標籤: nickname

On Thursday, the Charlotte Hornets will pay tribute to Dell Curry by retiring his jersey. The game against the Orlando Magic will be a celebration of his excellence on the field.

Additionally, Curry will get a chance to share the moment with his family, including his son Stephen Curry. Ahead of the celebration, the family openly shared the various nicknames they called him, but according to Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer, one stood out the most.

Fowler said that Steph and his brother Seth call Dale “Pops”. Additionally, his daughter, Sydelle Curry-Lee, calls him “Dad”. Then, Curry’s 10 grandchildren call him “Gee Daddy.”

However, for the first time, Steph shared with Fowler the nickname they use to call Dale in private.

“We call him ‘The Originator,'” Steph said of Dale. “Because all of this — all of us and our basketball family tree? It originated with him. A friend of ours gave him that nickname on a golf trip about a decade ago. And so now we run with it.”

Overall, Curry played 16 seasons in the NBA. Ten of those years were with the Hornets. Additionally, Curry became the franchise’s all-time scoring leader with 9,839 points. Additionally, he leads the league in total regular season games played with 701. In 1994, he was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.

Ultimately, Curry finished his career with 12,670 points, 2,617 rebounds and 1,909 assists. Additionally, Curry finished his career with 1,245 3-pointers, 929 of which came with the Hornets.

Also during his tenure in Charlotte, Curry led them to four playoff appearances in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1998.

The Charlotte Hornets may have the NBA’s most prolific three-point shooting duo this season, but rookie guard Kon Nueppel didn’t seem entirely convinced about the nickname suggestion for himself and LaMelo Ball.

During the pregame broadcast before Charlotte’s matchup with the San Antonio Spurs on Prime Video on Saturday afternoon, broadcaster Taylor Rooks floated a possible nickname for the pair after Knueppel struggled to come up with a name herself.

Rooks noted how the Golden State Warriors duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson earned the nickname “Splash Brothers” during their peak while leading the league in three-pointers made.

Since Charlotte’s backcourt was also producing from beyond the arc, Rooks suggested the nickname “Buzz Brothers” for Knueppel and Ball.

Knueppel responded in a light-hearted manner.

“What about the Buzz Brothers?” ???

Con Knuppel: “It’s okay.” 😅@TaylorRooks Get creative with Kon Nueppel and LaMelo Ball’s nicknames 🤙 pic.twitter.com/IhW1panTCV

– NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) 14 March 2026

“It’s fine. It’s fine,” he said, laughing.

‘Buzz Brothers’ idea came up when Kon Nueppel, LaMelo Ball led NBA in three-pointers

The moment highlighted the growing chemistry between Charlotte’s young backcourt as both players rank among the league’s most productive shooters from deep.

Entering Saturday’s contest, Knueppel leads the NBA with 233 three-pointers, while Ball is third in the league with 202. Their combined perimeter production has been a key factor in Charlotte’s offensive identity throughout the season.

At halftime of Saturday’s game, San Antonio held a 59-46 lead over Charlotte.

As legendary former player Shaquille O’Neal has dropped the mic on a variety of topics, it can’t be denied that his opinion is valued in the basketball world. O’Neal is known for his opinions about the NBA, with the analyst appearing on another show to debate topics involving current NBA big men.

On the show “Unsportsmanship”, O’Neal will be asked about the return of the league ideal of the “big man”, which the former player represents to a tee. However, O’Neal pushed back on that notion, saying the only two who fall into that category are Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.

“Stop it, the big man is not back,” O’Neal said Tuesday. “Because nobody posts up. Just because you’re seven foot and hitting jumpers doesn’t make you a big man. [Nikola Jokic] He’s the only person I would consider a big man, and Wemby, those two. But I remember when every team had a center, now you have a bunch of guys running, picking and popping in one spot.

“The big guy didn’t come back … because nobody posted up. Just because you’re seven foot and hitting jumpers doesn’t make you a big guy. [Nikola Jokic] He’s the only person I’d consider a big man, and Wemby.”

-Doubt

(via @UnSportsESPN)pic.twitter.com/mirpPrKSH3

– ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) 18 February 2026

Shaquille O’Neal says big men need to ‘play percentage’

O’Neal will talk more about the change in gameplan for many of the league’s centers, which focuses on shooting from mid-range or the three-point line rather than retreating into the paint. He would be asked about whether a player like him could lead a team to a title, with O’Neal responding that it was not about being like him, and how “it’s all about playing percentage.”

O’Neal continued on the show, “It’s all about playing percentages.” “If I’m seven-foot, 300 pounds, and I’m bigger and stronger than everybody else, I want to take higher percentage shots. I want to use my skills to, you know, put the other team in a defensive position… It’s just about being smart. If I’m seven-five, I’m not picking up pops and shooting jumpers over six-one, six-two guys.”

It remains to be seen how the big men develop in the future of the NBA.