BYU star Jimmer Fredette earns crazy nickname in China

Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette has rebuilt his basketball career in China, and is putting up some ridiculous numbers.

The 3-point shooting Fredette is averaging 37 points per game with the Shanghai Sharks this season, and scored a career-high 51 points on Nov. 11, 2016.

His superstar status in China has earned Fredette the nicknames “Lonely God” and “Loneliness Master.” In a recent interview, Fredette’s wife Whitney said that in China, the word “lonely” isn’t  a slight on someone, but rather, it’s an honorable trait.

In China, loneliness means that you’re invincible – like you’re so much further ahead from the rest of the crowd that you’re lonely. And that’s what Jimmer Fredette is in the Chinese Basketball Association – he’s far and away the leading scorer in the league.

But Fredette’s odd nicknames may strike the average American as hilarious. After all, as a friend recently pointed out, Fredette is one white American in a sea of 1.3 billion Chinese, so it’s easy to see how Jimmer’s nickname could be misunderstood.

This may be a turning point in Fredette’s career. “The Jimmer” only averaged 6 points per game (playing only 13.4 minutes per game) during his five seasons in the National Basketball Association. Like a few other athletes, Fredette has found new life by taking his game overseas.