NBA Players as Rappers

I saw a tweet a few months ago which compared NBA players to rappers and I wanted to take that concept and make some of my own comparisons. We’re going based on playing style, career accolades, and just overall vibes. 

Shai Gilgeous Alexander = Drake

This one makes perfect sense in my head. First of all, Drake and SGA are both Canadian. They also both love dropping corny bars. Did anyone see SGA’s most recent Instagram caption? He said, “I’m not thinking about how I could’ve ate more, I’m thinking about how I could win eight more”. I mean come on, that could so easily be a bar from a Drake song. Drake and SGA are also both some of the best in their respective industries, yet they also get more hate than almost anyone else.

Kyrie Irving = Kanye West

They might each be washed today, but we will never stop talking about either of their primes. At Kyrie’s peak, he was one of the few “must-watch” players in the NBA. At Kanye’s peak he was a must-listen. Both of them started to have a decline in performance coinciding with the sharing of some extremely questionable opinions about Jewish people. Even though they haven’t been good in a while now, everyone will be hoping that they can get back to their peaks until they finally retire for good. 

Jayson Tatum = NF

By far the corniest ones doing it. That one coworker that nobody really likes absolutely loves watching Tatum hoop and loves listening to NF. He thought Jayson Tatum’s post-game interview after the NBA finals was inspirational, and he thinks NF’s music is “deep” and “relatable”. 

Michael Jordan = Andre 3000

Just like Michael going 6 for 6 in the NBA finals, Outkast went 6 for 6 with their albums. You’ll find some people out there who firmly believe that Andre 3000 is the best of all time, but most people have enough sense to know that he wouldn't have been as good as he was without Big Boi. Which brings us to our next player comp:

Scottie Pippen = Big Boi

Both are criminally underrated because of who they played with. When you actually stop to look at either of their careers on their own, you’ll realize that they are both top 20 of all time in their respective fields. Neither one will ever be able to escape the shadow of Jordan/ Andre 3000, which is a shame because they each deserve more individual respect. 

Let me know what you all think of these comparisons. If you have any of your own, tag me on Twitter @nicks_best_pick with your comparisons, and let me know if you want to see a volume 2.