15 NBA players and their rapper counterparts
By Wes Goldberg
8. Dwyane Wade and Lil Wayne
Both Dwyane Wade and Lil Wayne have entered the twilight of their careers but that doesn’t mean they’re washed up. In fact, far from it. D-Wade can still drop a classic performance like Game 6 of the second round of the NBA playoffs between the Heat and Hornets. And just when you thought Weezy was relegated to commercial spots he comes up with a classic verse. You don’t have to look any further than his spot on Drake’s Hype remix.
He opens up by rolling through “I pull up on you in that purple thing bumpin’ Purple Rain/ Singin’ “Purple Rain,” sippin’ purple rain/Pourin’ champagne off commercial fame.” Then he gives you some vintage Weezy later on with “J.R. Smith with the shot/Cause I pull up, I stop and pop/I call my AK Barney/And I’ma let this baby pop.”
Whenever these guys decide to turn up from their default setting of being still-good-but-not-great and building their business empires, they can still hit you with something vintage from what got them here. For Wayne, he can still rap with the best of them, while Wade can still be “Flash” and put a team on his back when it matters most.
When they do something great, it’s often considered “vintage.” Wade has been performing in the shadows of LeBron James and the New Gen since 2010, but there aren’t many peaks in NBA history as great as Wade’s run from 2006 to 2010.
As for Wayne, his full-length album game hasn’t been the same since he picked up the guitar, but no rapper was more popular between 2004 and 2008 than Weezy in what will go down as one of the better four-year runs the game has ever known. Still, Lil Wayne can jump on any track and give it instant credibility.
For both Wade and Wayne, their careers will be better appreciated once they hang ’em up.
Next: 7. Carmelo Anthony