NBA Great Earl Monroe Explains How His Legendary Nickname Came About

Shandel Richardson | Nov 22, 2024

Unknown Date; Atlanta, GA, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Knicks guard Earl Monroe (15) in action against the Atlanta Hawks. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images / Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

Nicknames are often criticized in today's NBA.

Fans say they are too basic. Anthony Davis is AD. Kevin Garnett was KG. It's gotten to the point nickname aren't even as important.

Time was, they were more prevalent and creative. Among the great ones was Earl "The Pearl" Monroe from the 1970s. Monroe once explained how he got the name while playing college at Winston-Salem State in North Carolina.

It was more than just rhyming with his first name.

"In my senior year, my first six or seven games, I think I had 33, 68 and 58 and whatnot," Monroe said in an old NBA interview. "For my first seven games, I was averaging 54 points a game. And a guy wrote a column on that and he listed the scores from each game. At the head of the column, there, `these are Earl's pearls.' Being down South, naturally, people shortened that up and I became Earl The Pearl."

“He listed the scores from each game and at the head of the column was ‘These are Earl’s Pearls.’”

Earl Monroe on his nickname-inspiring 54 PPG during the first 7 games of his senior year of college 🔥

Happy 80th Birthday, @RealEarlMonroe! pic.twitter.com/sGuHfU7qH1

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) November 21, 2024

Pearl later took his act to the NBA, where he played with the New York Knicks. Many considered him the league's first showman because of the tricks he performed on the court.

"After a while, I got to know my audience and I became more than just a basketball player," Monroe said. "I became a performer. By knowing your audience, you know what you can do to excite your audience."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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