@inglewood said it best. the first intial-abbreviated last name shit is corny. a lot is our fault as fans. And no one really has the influence to change it from happening so Anthony Davis will be AD21 or some dumb shit
players aint very exclusive to us as fans anymore. Earl Monroe had 2-3 nicknames BEFORE he got to the league & all of em were original b/c of his legend on the playground (Jesus & Magic or Black Jesus, Black Magic) And since white media loves names that rhyme it became Earl The Pearl as well.
That said. There arent many playground legends coming out. And1 didnt fully pan out and our generation has this weird/stupid/bad habit of scoffing at some things we loved growing up & helped shape us as if to say we're "grown" now. So even some of us, the target age and market of And1 at the time look down on it as if it wasnt engrossing and some of the players in the time. Even some of the NBA players who had that playground style & cool/original nicknames (The Answer, Stevie Franchise, Nick the Quick,Marbury had a couple nicknames too)
Now with AAU, Nike/Addidas camps & High school games on ESPN by the time we see players they're already nationally broken.