Same Name Game: Sports Edition

Some disambiguation for your fantasy basketball team.

I am not much of a sports guy. When my friends host Super Bowl parties or my dad looks at a basketball game from his alma mater, I can get into it, but for most of the year, I’m pretty uninformed. Who throw ball good? Me not know.

However, the members of Crossword Discord (AKA Crosscord) know sports trivia much better than yours truly, and in a recent thread, they uncovered some same-name and similar-name pairs that I figured were worth sharing. These are people whom I’d at least have some excuse for confusing.

Nikola Jokić is a Serbian center for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. Nicknamed “The Joker,” he’s considered one of the GOATs. Nikola Jović is a Serbian power forward for the NBA’s Miami Heat. The two have clashed on the court, but have a mentor-mentee relationship off it.

Bogdan Bogdanović is a shooting guard for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks; he also represents the Serbian national team. Bojan Bogdanović is a Croatian power forward for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, he also represents the Croatian national team.

Isiah Thomas was a famous Detroit Pistons point guard. Isaiah Thomas is a Charlotte Hornets point guard and shooting guard.

Ervin Johnson was a center for several NBA teams, mostly the Milwaukee Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Unfortunately, he’s been so eclipsed by Earvin “Magic” Johnson (another basketball GOAT, best known as point guard for the LA Lakers) that you can barely find Ervin on Google nowadays.

Karim Abdul-Jabbar was an NFL player for the Miami Dolphins when his imam assigned him his name, which brought confusion with NBA legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar, center for the Milwaukee Bucks and the LA Lakers. Karim leaned into it by using the number 33, the same number as Kareem’s. You may recall Coby Bryant, an NFLer that likewise took the number of his NBA homophone, Kobe Bryant. Coby did this to honor the late Kobe, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, still very much alive and invested in his own fame, wasn’t so honored. He sued Karim until the latter changed his name to Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar.

Josh Allen is a quarterback for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Josh Allen is a linebacker for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Josh Allen is a retired center who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Hotshots, and Dallas Renegades. In the image below, the second Allen sacked the first.

Brady Feigl and Brady Feigl pitch for the MLB (one with the Lexington Counter Clocks, one as a free agent). They look very similar but are not related.

Will Smith is a catcher for the MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers. Will Smith is a pitcher for the MLB’s Texas Rangers. You may remember the name Will Smith from another field, too.

Bob Miller and Bob Miller both pitched for the New York Mets in 1962. (Each had a longer career than that, but not on the same team.)

Michael Carter plays for the New York Jets. So does Michael Carter II, who was drafted on the same day as the other Michael.

Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams are shooting guard/small forward and center/power forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder. They were inducted in the same year.

As ever, feel free to let me know what I missed!