Due to the cultural difference,so Ming's nickname is diffrent

I'm form china and a basketball fan. In our country,there is alse basketball match, clubs. Before Yao went to huston, Yao is in Shanghai shark club and is the master of it. Yao gains everything from there, but not having a nickname.In genera we dont call a man's Nickname except that we are very very familiar with each other.
"Ming Dynasty" is the nickname to YaoMing after he left Shanghai. I dont know who is the first man to call it. Today in bbs i found a man(Maybe a usaer) give a pointer to "Ming Dynasty". It 's a joke? Maybe. IN china, there are so many dynasties in the history, Ming is the one among them. But the nickname 's meaning is not this. it means a man's power ability to support a sky.