Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant among most referred players in rap songs

The NBA is home to star athletes who inspire not only basketball players but also artists. Hip-hop rappers, in particular, have included the league’s best players in their bars. From directly mentioning their names to highlighting their skills and other basketball jargon, the league with all its talent and tales of triumph can make any rap song more catchy.

Today, we’re looking at some of the best NBA references ever written by hip-hop rappers.

If there’s one thing we’ve discovered from curating this list, it’s that nothing is cooler than hearing iconic artists singing about iconic players. So get ready for some four-bar frenzy and start busting those beats!

10. Victory by Puff Daddy feat The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes (1997)

A cut from P. Diddy’s debut album No Way Out, this track contains one of the best guest verses of all time from one of the greats—The Notorious B.I.G. At that time, nobody knew that it would be the last verses The Notorious B.I.G. would ever record. He was shot that year on March 9, 1997. But for his final act, the King of New York made sure that he dropped one of the cleverest bars in rap history.

“Real quick, real sick, raw nights, I perform like Mike/Anyone—Tyson, Jordan, Jackson, action, pack guns”

Come to think of it, all the Michaels he mentioned here are GOATs. You have boxing icon Michael Gerard Tyson, NBA legend Michael Jordan, and King of Pop Michael Jackson. The album itself was stellar, receiving a Grammy for Best Rap Album and was certified as a septuple platinum. We think it’s just but right that powerhouse references achieve powerhouse success.

9. It Was A Good Day by Ice Cube (1992)

This track was from the album The Predator. It contains one of the most popular basketball allusions in rap music. Ice Cube was on the verge of peaking in his solo career when he released this album, which was also his most successful one to date.

“Which park are y’all playing basketball/Get me on the court and I’m trouble/Last week f*ed around and got a triple-double/Freaking niggas every way like MJ/I can’t believe today was a good day”

In the same way, Jordan’s greatness was reaching its peak that time as he was on his way to clinching his second NBA championship. For a lot of Bulls fans, every day “was a good day” since Jordan started winning championships for them. Imagine if he didn’t retire to play baseball. The good days would’ve lasted longer. He would come back in 1995, though, to continue what he started.

8. Raw and Uncut by Beanie Sigel feat Jay Z (2000)

Beanie Sigel launched his debut album The Truth under Jay Z’s Roc-A-Fella label. The track Raw and Uncut was a shout out to the amazing partnership and collaborations he had with Jay Z. He was the irreplaceable sidekick who deserved as much credit for his partner’s success.

“Me and Jay same track/You gotta be kiddin'/It's like that nigga Jordan, I'm Scottie Pippen/It's like Magic, Worthy/Parish, Bird, B/Stockton, Malone sh*/Who gonna stop and hold this?/Game like Doc and Moses/Fullcourt press and the Roc controls this.”

Sigel was like Pippen, Stockton, and Worthy, who all who won NBA championships with bigger stars alongside them namely Jordan, Malone, and Magic, respectively. For 10 years, Jay Z and Sigel released one hit after another. But just when everyone thought that Roc was set to dominate the rap industry, the partnership came to an end.

7. Encore by Jay Z (2003)

Jay Z’s The Black Album is known as his last album before he sort of retired from rap music. The track Encore detailed how he lacked competition in the music industry and how fitting it was to retire at the peak of his career. Sounds familiar?

“As fate would have it, Jay’s status appears/To be at an all-time high, perfect time to say goodbye/When I come back like Jordan, wearing the 4-5/ It ain't to play games with you, it's to aim at you, probably maim you.”

So, it’s just but logical to make the best NBA reference with MJ’s retirement. After a three-peat with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan retired in 1993 to pursue a brief stint in baseball. A year later, he came back to win three more championships with the Bulls. He retired again in 1999 before coming back two years later to play with the Washington Wizards.

Jay Z made a similar comeback in 2006 with his album Kingdom Come followed by American Gangster in 2007. Putting their accolades side by side, Jay Z’s 21 Grammys and 50 million albums sold almost bear equal weight to Jordan’s six NBA championships, six Finals MVP awards, and five MVP awards. From one GOAT to another, this NBA reference is spot on.

6. Can’t Tell Me Nothing by Kanye West (2007)

This track is from Kanye West’s third album Graduation. Yeezy has previously said that Can’t Tell Me Nothing is the favorite song he has written so far. The track was also named by Complex as the best song of the decade. Juggling fame, fortune, success, and failure, Kanye’s iconic song resonated with hip-hop and non-hip-hop fans alike.

“But homie this is my day/Class started two hours ago, oh am I late?/No, I already graduated/And you can live through anything if Magic made it.”

Referencing what Magic Johnson went through with his battle with HIV is a great illustration of what it means to face the odds and come out victorious. Despite being diagnosed with HIV, the five-time NBA champion went on to play as a starter in the 1992 All-Star Game and be part of the Dream Team that competed and won in the 1992 Summer Olympics. More than a decade later, he’s now HIV-free.

5. Dough Is What I Got freestyle by Lil Wayne (2007)

Lil Wayne dropped the freestyle Dough Is What I Got over Jay Z’s single Show Me What You Got. That same year, he was ranked by The New Yorker as “Rapper of the Year” and was named by MTV as “Hottest MC in the Game.”

“And when it comes down to this recording/I must be LeBron James if he's Jordan/No, I want rings with my performance/I'm more Kobe Bryant up in all this/Same coat, same gang been starting/Same triangle offense/I come through the lane like a Dodge/Referee niggas is lame they call charging,”

With Jay Z out of the picture for three years after his 2003 retirement, Lil Wayne rose to stardom. He considered himself to be LeBron James while Jay Z was MJ. But back in 2007, LBJ hadn’t won a championship yet so Lil Wayne thought he was more like Kobe Bryant with rings and all. Well, if you’ve sold 15 million albums and won five Grammys, then that’s a close comparison to the Black Mamba.

4. Thank Me Now by Drake (2010)

This track was from Drake’s debut album Thank Me Later which was released on June 15, 2010. Being new to the music industry, the Canadian rapper compared his journey with NBA greats Jordan and Allen Iverson in the song Thank Me Now.

“I can relate to kids going straight to the league/When they recognize that you got what it takes to succeed/And that's around the time that your idols become your rivals/You make friends with Mike but got to ‘A.I.' him for your survival.”

Drake has always been vocal about artists that have influenced him. He knew that he was on the verge of becoming successful. Drizzy was aware that his talents can potentially rival some of the greats. From someone with potential, he would later be viewed as a legit competition.

Same goes for A.I. during his rookie year. He wanted to prove to everyone that he can make it big in the league. Jordan was one of his idols and when he faced His Airness during his rookie year, he dropped a nasty crossover before shooting a mid-range jumper. It was a preview of who would eventually take over the league the same way Drake took over the rap music scene.

3. Return of Simba by J. Cole (2011)

The third in the series of Simba songs, the Return of Simba is a standout track in J. Cole’s Cole World: The Sideline Story. Being new to the rap industry back then, J. Cole already knew he wanted to be known as one of the greats.

“Ced said, ‘Look, my niggas, we got a foot in'/Being good is good, that’ll get you Drew Gooden/But me, I want Jordan numbers, LeBron footin’/Can’t guard me, Vince Lombardi, John Wooden”

Clearly, he doesn’t want to be an average rapper throwing reference to NBA journeyman Drew Gooden. J. Cole wants to be in the same breath as rap legends, raking in as many awards as he can. Who better to name drop than NBA champs MJ and LBJ along with decorated coaches like five-time NFL champ Vince Lombardi and 12-time NCAA champ John Wooden.

2. New God Flow by Kanye West and Pusha T (2012)

This track is part of the collaboration album Cruel Summer which had compositions from different members of the label GOOD Music. Kanye went from being greatly admired in 2007 to being the most despised in 2009 when he infamously stole the spotlight from Taylor Swift in the 2009 MTV Music Awards.

“Went from most hated to the champion god flow/I guess that's a feeling only me and LeBron know”

His embarrassing fall from grace was much like LeBron’s dreamlike Chosen One story that turned into a nightmare when he made The Decision. The King eventually redeemed himself when he won his first NBA championship in 2012 and Kanye’s redemption came from his next award-winning album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

LeBron also recognized the similarities and even referenced Kanye’s lyrics in one of his tweets! Talk about validation.

1. The Heart Part 4 by Kendrick Lamar (2017)

Let’s go to something more recent. The Heart Part 4 is the fourth installment in Kendrick Lamar’s The Heart series. In this single, Lamar summarizes in four bars the ugly split between Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

“Tables turned, lesson learned, my best look/You jumped sides on me, now you 'bout to meet Westbrook/Go celebrate with your team and let victory vouch you/Just know the next game played I might slap the sh* out you”

Vengeance never sounded this good. Despite Durant going on to win the title after riding on the laurels of his fiercest competition, Westbrook went on to win the NBA’s MVP award that same year. Mr. Triple-Double showed his former ally that he can be great without him.

Meanwhile, some think that Durant will always have an asterisk to every championship he will win with the Warriors because he needed to join the best team in the league to get a ring.

These are just some of the many NBA references in rap songs. There’s no doubt that the rise and fall of well-known basketball stars have been a source of inspiration for a lot of artists. Their stories become even more relatable to people when they are dropped in four bars by famous rappers. The NBA culture and hip-hop culture are tightly knit so expect to see more “crossovers” between these two worlds.