What's in a Nickname? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dominique Wilkins

Wilkins was originally drafted by the Utah Jazz but was traded to the Atlanta Hawks a few months later. He played fifteen NBA seasons for six different teams from 1982-1999, finishing his career with a 24.8 scoring average. His nickname came from his court acrobatics and thunderous dunks, which earned him eight All-Star appearances and two NBA Slam Dunk Contest wins.

Answer: Doonesbury

Doonesbury Dunleavy played in the NBA for several clubs from 1976-1990. He switched to coaching for the 1990-1991 season and took the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals that year, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls.

Answer: Bill Walton

Walton took better to being called "The Big Red-Head", in reference to his wild mop of fiery hair. After a stellar collegiate career with the UCLA Bruins, where he led them to back-to-back National Championships in 1972 & 1973, years in which they were undefeated.

His pro career was stalled by constant injuries; however, his dominating presence in ten NBA seasons, got him elected to the Hall of Fame. After retiring from the pros, he went behind the microphone, where his often-brilliant, often-incongruous quotes brought him a new form of notoriety.

Answer: Kent Benson

Benson led Indiana to the 1975-1976 National Collegiate Basketball Championship under Bobby Knight. His twelve-year pro career from 1977-1988, however, was mediocre.

Answer: The Molester

After an excellent college career at Oregon State from 1980-1982, Conner never stood out in 12 pro seasons through 1995, finishing with a career scoring average of 6.3 points per game.

Answer: William

Holzman was the NBL Rookie Of The Year for the 1944-1945 season and helped the Rochester Royals win a NBA championship in 1951. He is best known, however, as an NBA coach. He began his pro coaching career with the Milwaukee Hawks in 1953, which he left after two seasons.

After a short stint as coach of the St. Louis Hawks (he was fired in 1957). He was not a head coach again until the 1967-1968 season, when he was hired by the New York Knicks. He led the Knicks to the 1970 league championship and a then-record 18 straight wins.

Answer: Bill Fitch

The nickname stemmed from Fitch's love of classic movies. He coached for 25 years in the NBA through 1998 and led the Celtics to the 1981 NBA Championship.

Answer: Bill Bradley

After being drafted in the first round by the New York Knicks in 1965, Bradley had a solid NBA career through the 1976-1977 season. During his tenure with the Knicks, they won two NBA Championships and he appeared in one All Star Game (1972-1973 season). After leaving basketball, he turned to politics and was elected a two-term US Senator from New Jersey.

Answer: Al Attles

Alvin "The Destroyer" Attles played 11 seasons with the Philadelphia and San Francisco Warriors from 1960-61 through the 1970-71 seasons, averaging 8.9 points per game. As a coach, he led the Warriors to a World Championship in 1975, making him the second African-American coach (Bill Russell was the first) to win an NBA Championship.

Answer: Batman and Robin

Despite a stellar college career, "Robin" Rex Morgan only had a cup of coffee with Boston Celtics in the 1970-71 and 1971-1972 seasons. "Batman" Gilmore played for seventeen pro seasons through 1988 in both the ABA and NBA. He amassed a career 18.8 points per game combined scoring average and played in 11 All-Star games. As a pro, Gilmore's nickname was "The A-Train".