Alright, so fantasy basketball season rolled around again. You know what that means – time to get the league going, draft night prep, and yeah, figuring out a team name. I always try to come up with something decent, something that gets a chuckle out of the league chat.

This year, I kinda wanted something with a bit more edge, you know? Not just the standard puns. Something a little… well, let’s call it ‘cheeky’. The kind of name that makes people pause for a second, then laugh. So, the hunt began for what some folks might call ‘dirty’ fantasy basketball names, though I was really just aiming for funny with a bit of spice.
My Process Kicking Off
First thing I did? Fired up the old computer. Just started typing stuff into the search bar. Things like “funny fantasy basketball names,” then maybe adding player names, trying different combinations. You get a lot of junk at first, the same tired old puns you see every year.
I spent a good hour just clicking around, scrolling through forum threads from years ago, checking out lists people had put together. Some were okay, but nothing really jumped out. A lot of them were trying too hard, or honestly, just weren’t that funny. You gotta walk that line, right? Edgy is one thing, just plain dumb or offensive is another.
Brainstorming and Filtering
So, sitting there, I started just messing around myself. I grabbed my league’s roster from last year, looked at the big names, the rookies, everyone. Then I started thinking about puns, phrases, you know, wordplay.
Here’s kind of what I did:

- Took a player’s name.
- Thought of words or phrases that rhyme or sound similar.
- Tried mixing those with slightly suggestive, but not too crazy, everyday terms or pop culture stuff.
- Said them out loud. This is key! Some things look okay written down but sound stupid when you say ’em.
It was a real trial-and-error thing. I scribbled down a bunch on a notepad. Some were instant “nope, too far” or “nope, makes no sense.” Others got a maybe. You end up with a list, mostly garbage, but maybe a few gems hidden in there.
Landing on Something (or Trying To)
After a while, I had a shortlist. Maybe five or six names that I thought were actually pretty good. Funny, a little bit naughty maybe, but not something that would get me kicked out of the league (hopefully!). It’s always about knowing your audience – our league is pretty relaxed, so you can get away with a bit more.
I didn’t settle on one immediately. Sometimes you gotta let them sit for a day, see which one still feels right later. But yeah, that was the process. Just digging online, brainstorming like crazy, and filtering out the junk until something decent surfaced. It takes longer than you’d think to find that perfect mix of clever and cheeky.