“Brooklyn.”
At least, that’s the nickname Brook Lopez will put on the back of his jersey when the Brooklyn Nets play the Miami Heat this season, in a game where both teams will put nicknames on their jerseys instead of their regular names.
“Brooklyn on the front, and Brooklyn on the back,” the team-oriented Lopez said with a smile at Brooklyn’s Media Day at Barclays Center.
Lopez originally wanted to put “Batman” (*ahem*), but a copyright dispute with Warner Brothers put the kibosh on that idea. Nets forward Reggie Evans, whose nickname is “The Joker,” has the same issue.
I can’t tell if this is an elaborate troll at the expense of people who think nicknames are a good idea, or if Lopez genuinely likes the idea of putting “Brooklyn” on the back of his jersey. It comes off well — he’s literally putting the team above himself, it’s a play off his own name, and since he doesn’t have an officially sanctioned nickname, it’s hard to beat the borough you play in.
Still upset that “The Brookie Monster” won’t fit on a jersey, though.
Other Nets nicknames: Paul Pierce is “The Truth,” obviously. Kevin Garnett is “Big Ticket.” Shaun Livingston is “S-Dot” (his nickname since his rookie year). Jason Terry is “Jet.” Joe Johnson has no idea: “I still don’t really know what’s going on… y’all going to have to wait and see.” The NBA won’t allow Andrei Kirilenko to use his nickname AK-47, for obvious reasons.
