The Other Guys
Beyond those five, the rest of the Jazz nicknames aren’t necessarily all that exciting and some have yet to earn their true nicknames, something that will hopefully come in the relatively near future. But let’s take a look at what we’ve got left.
George Hill – G-Hill is about all I’ve seen him referred to. The originality there is suffocating. He also has “Indiana George” tattooed on his arm in the Indiana Jones font due to being an Indiana native, but referring to him as that while playing for Utah just feels a little uncomfortable. I thought about coming up with a nickname that would make reference to his constant injuries last season, but then realized that would be toetally inappropriate.
Derrick Favors – D-Faves or simply Fave/Faves have been his most common nicknames. Not much to report here, they’re kind of just shortened versions of his name (for those of you who didn’t catch on to that).
Shelvin Mack – I like Mack Attack because why not? It rolls off the tongue and as a description of his style of play is accurate about 30 percent of the time (much like his three-point shooting). Some Jazz fans who wanted to see his playing time reduced this past season started referring to him as Shelving Mack, but I was never really a fan of that.
Alec Burks – He’s most commonly known by his initials – AB. Bolerjack at one point dubbed him Houdini (didn’t that used to be Paul Millsap?) for Burks’ incredible finishes at the rim, but given that he shot a disturbing 40.2 percent within five feet of the rim this past season, the second worst in the league of any player averaging at least two such attempts per game, I’d say the magic in that nickname has certainly run out.
Rodney Hood – His main nickname is Hoody, which always makes me think I should go put on a hooded sweatshirt. That’s really about it.
Raul Neto – The second I heard the correct pronunciation of Raul’s name (How-ool) I instantly thought it sounded like a wolf howl and that his nickname ought to be the Wolf. Fortunately, Gordon Hayward and Quin Snyder’s minds must work something like mine as they gave Neto that very nickname. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard that or the similar nickname, Wolfie, used all that much, but it certainly should be. It’s a perfect description of Neto’s name and crafty style of play.
Dante Exum – I’ve only ever heard him referred to as “Ex” but if this guy can get going and attain the superstar potential he had as a young draftee, he’ll certainly be deserving of a cooler nickname than that. The Ex-Man? Wolverine? Something along those lines? Anyone see where I’m going with this?
Joel Bolomboy – Whenever I hear his name, naturally I think of “Ballin’ Boy” which only makes sense. However, I can see him deserving a cooler nickname down the road. He’s from Ukraine, so maybe we can come up with something similar to the Stifle Tower or Marcin Gortat’s Polish Hammer nickname. Bolomboy is great at destroying the rim, so get brainstorming on this one and let’s see what we can come up with.
Trey Lyles – Supposedly his nickname is Trey Mamba, but he’s got a long way to go to prove to me that he really has that Mamba Mentality. Heck, I wouldn’t even put him in the same category as the White Mamba Brian Scalabrine or the Red Mamba Matt Bonner. Miniature Mamba, maybe?
Jeff Withey – Apparently former New Orleans Pelican teammate Ryan Anderson dubbed Jeff Withey “Sweet Pea”. I’m just going to leave that one alone…
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Well, there you have it – a more intimate look at current Utah Jazz nicknames than you probably ever hoped to get. Some are certainly better than others while the ones that provide a laugh are among the best.
Did I leave any major nicknames off the list? Have any ideas for new ones for some of these guys? Feel free to let me know in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter.