When not splashing in deep, series clinching three–pointers, Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard enjoys exchanging the basketball for a mic, dropping out rap tracks at a frequent rate. With his rhymes continuing to impress listers, most hail Lillard as the NBA’s best rapper among a decent-sized crowd including other players such as Allen Iverson, Lonzo Ball, Andre Drummond and Lou Williams. However, it appears that those within that crowd no longer intend to sit quietly behind Lillard as he rules the NBA’s rap game.
After joining Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman on ESPN’s First Take, Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III voiced his beliefs regarding LIllard’s skills behind the microphone. When Kellerman asked Bagley who reigns supreme as the NBA’s best rapper, Bagley placed himself above Lillard, as he stated, “Man, me. I love music, so I’m going to go with myself.” Bagley even mentioned his openness to a potential rap battle between the two, taking place on First Take‘s stages.
With Lillard listening, the super star guard wasted no time in clapping back towards Bagley, tweeting at him “It won’t be on first take… but if that’s what he want… shoot.”
Lillard’s intentions to put Bagley’s comments to bed came into fruition quickly, as just hours later he released a dis track titled “MARVINNNNNN!!!???” The track came out just 12 hours after Bagley’s comments aired. Throughout the roughly two–minute track Lillard refers to Bagley as an “amatuer,” “clown” and mentions his unestablished stature in the league.
Refusing to back down, Bagley then responded with his own dis track directed at Lillard. Bagley titled his track as “No Debate,” likely putting forth the idea that Bagley is the league’s undebatable best rapper.
Continuing the beef into the night’s late hours, both Lillard and Bagley each then released secondary tracks following up their earlier projects. Nearly the entire ordeal played out during the NBA draft, adding even more gasoline to the NBA steam-engine which continued to roll on last night as the league ushered in its next generation.
Although the question asking who’s the league’s finest rapper remains unanswered, players such as Bagley and Lillard continue to express their competitiveness, pursuing to best each other even off the court.
