#How Knicks’ World Wide Wes got his nickname from Jalen Rose

Jalen Rose loved assigning nicknames to his former teammates. But the ESPN analyst feels he hit a home run years back when he assigned new Knicks executive William Wesley the moniker “World Wide Wes.’’

“It’s my favorite nickname I’ve tagged someone and was validated when Jay-Z and Drake used it in a song,” in 2013’s “Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2,’’ Rose told The Post. “I started calling him that and other people started to call him that and it became his nickname. He’s a mover and shaker.’’

Rose, who is from Michigan, ran across Wesley a lot because Detroit was one of Wesley’s bases.

“Wes was on the floor during ‘The Malice at the Palace’ trying to break it up,’’ Rose said.

Wesley never held an official title at Creative Artists Agency but ran Creative Artists Agency’s basketball department’s coaching division under Leon Rose, who is now Knicks president. Before that, Wesley reportedly recruited players for sneaker companies.

So how did the nickname come about?

“I’m sitting on a Delta flight and they’re holding a plane for somebody,’’ Rose said. “[Wesley] comes strolling on the plane, not rushing, talking on the phone, holding food. I’m like, ‘Really it’s like that.’ I’m laughing and started calling him that. He’s moving and shaking. He’s ‘WWW’ — like on the internet.”

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The recent addition of Steve Stoute as a branding consultant — along with Wesley — has the Knicks on the right track toward changing a battered image. Rose cited Stoute and Wesley being black as critical.

“There’s a culture and change going to take place in a lot of industries as we continue to pull back the onion in a lot of scenarios and realize the systemic racism in corporate America,’’ Rose said. “Steve Stoute and World Wide Wes are put in a category as so well established in industry, culture and respected for their intellect and connecting people to greatness.

“And the genius move they did was keeping Scott Perry [as GM]. It was the quiet move but the smart move, a basketball move. But I believe they will be able to attract talent and sell them on playing in New York City for the Knicks. … When you walk into that room, other than James Dolan and Leon, four out of the six will be black, and it’s going to say something to free agents.’’