15 NBA players and their rapper counterparts

Basketball and rap music have shared the same culture space for years.

As Drake coos on his 2010 track “Thank Me Now,”  “I swear sports and music are so synonymous/Cause we want to be them, and they want to be us.”

So what if them were us? You know, like, what NBA players remind us of rappers? The two cultures are inextricably and inherently linked, with both maintaining an important cultural presence in the black community. But it goes even beyond that.

There’s a certain amount of rawness to the old game of the 80s and 90s that you can find in the early days of rap and hip-hop. You could make an argument that Bird and Magic was the NBA’s made-for-TV version of Biggie vs Tupac.

Both the rap and basketball game has changed over the years. More bells, whistles and fireworks within the TV and arena experience matching the ever-increasing use of auto-tune, synths and use of social media to drive rap music.

However basketball players, more than any other sport, draw from the players of the past. The best NBA stars are often referred to as “students of the game.” Rappers are strikingly similar in their use of sampling. Like NBA players, rappers are building on what their forefathers did before them. It’s never about doing it better, there’s too much respect for that kind of thought. It’s about moving the medium forward.

It’s always about progress. That, more than anything, is what makes rap music and basketball dancing partners whirling together through today’s ever-complicated culture scene.

It makes sense, then, that certain NBA players would remind us of rappers. Before diving into some comps, I made this list based on both personality and narrative arc. Meaning: I took into account lots of things, but mostly went with my gut. This is my list and you’re welcome to disagree and leave your comparisons in the comments section.

So, without further adieu, here’s 15 NBA players and their rapper counterparts.

Next: 15. Kobe Bryant