Drake's 10 Best Lyrical References To NBA Players
From LeBron James to Chris Paul, Drake has name-dropped a number of NBA players in his songs. Nearly every NBA superstar and even a few guys you might not necessarily expect him to shout out. But now that Drake is officially running with the Toronto Raptors—the team named Drizzy their "Global Ambassador" on Monday—we don't expect that trend to continue.
From here on out, the only NBA players that Drake will be name-dropping will be Raptors players like Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan and Landry Fields. But to prove to you that Drake did used to big-up NBA players outside of the city of Toronto, we dug through some of his old lyrics to find his 10 best references to ballers in his songs. Who will he compare himself to now that 97 percent of NBA players are off-limits to him?! He might want to rethink this whole Raptors thing…
Photo Credit: SportsGrid
1
11
2
11
The Player: LeBron James
The Reference: "Some niggas been here for a couple, never been here again/I'm on my King James shit, I'm tryna win here again," from "5 AM in Toronto"
Why It Was Great: "5 AM in Toronto" was a "look at how great I can rap!" moment for Drake. And he proved it by telling the world that he was going to try and come out on top again, just like LeBron James who was in the middle of attempting a second straight NBA championship.
Photo Credit: Hollywood Reporter
3
11
The Player: Kobe Bryant
The Reference: "Kobe 'bout to lose a hundred fifty M's/Kobe my nigga, I hate it had to be him/Bitch, you wasn't with me shooting in the gym," from Rick Ross' "Stay Schemin"
Why It Was Great: This wasn't just great. It was also one of the most controversial lines that Drake has ever spit. Kobe's wife Vanessa spoke out against Drake after this song came out, and eventually, Drizzy was forced to issue an apology to both Kobe and Vanessa. It's still a classic line, though.
Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated
4
11
The Player: Chris Paul
The Reference: "On some Southern drawl shit/Rookie of the year, '06 Chris Paul shit," on "Ignorant Shit"
Why It Was Great: Drake dropped this line back when he was the rap rookie of the year. So it was very fitting and really summed up where he was at in his career at this particular moment.
Photo Credit: The Knicks Wall
5
11
The Player: Dwyane Wade
The Reference: "Tryin' to enjoy myself with Tez in Miami at the game/I just wish he knew how much it really weighed like Dwyane," from "The Calm"
Why It Was Great: Ah, we see what you did there, Drake! You've got something on your mind that's weighing down on you. But rather than just say that, you used D-Wade's name in a slick way. Well played.
Photo Credit: Business Insider
6
11
The Player: Dwight Howard
The Reference: "I reached the point where don't shit matter to me, nigga/I reached heights that Dwight Howard couldn't reach, nigga," from "Tuscan Leather"
Why It Was Great: Howard is a tall dude who can get up. So Drake used him and his hops to illustrate the heights that he has taken his career to in just a few short years.
Photo Credit: Rap Genius
7
11
The Player: Kevin Durant
The Reference: "OVO, that's major shit, Toronto with me, that's mayor shit/Gettin' cheddar packs like KD, OKC that's player shit," from French Montana's "Pop That"
Why It Was Great: Before this song even came out, Drake sent out a tweet to KD to let him know that he was name-dropping him in a song. Since then, Drake and Durant have been tight.
Photo Credit: ThisIs50
8
11
The Player: James Harden
The Reference: "Man, this shit so ill that we had to restart it/H-Town my second home like I'm James Harden," from DJ Khaled's "No New Friends"
Why It Was Great: On a number of different occasions, Drake has rapped about Houston being like his second home. So what better way to sell that idea than by name-dropping one of the best players on the Houston Rockets?
Photo Credit: Business Insider
9
11
The Player: Derrick Rose
The Reference: "A nigga fillin' up arenas, who the fuck could see us?/I had to Derrick Rose the knee up before I got the re-up," from "Furthest Thing"
Why It Was Great: A few years ago, Drake tore his ACL. D-Rose did the same thing last year. So when Drizzy shouted Rose out on Nothing Was the Same, he did more than just name-drop him. He also shouted him out in a metaphorical way.
Photo Credit: The Source
10
11
The Player: Tony Parker
The Reference: "Stop acting like teen girls are my only market/I parallel the Flying Spur, Tony Park it," from "Asthma Team"
Why It Was Great: Oh, you thought Drake only started dropping NBA players once he made it big? Nah, son. He has been name-dropping NBA players for years now. This particular one landed on one of his early mixtapes, Comeback Season.
Photo Credit: Voxxi
11
11
The Players: Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson
The Reference: "And that's around the time that your idols become your rivals/You make friends with Mike but gotta A.I. him for your survival," from "Thank Me Now"
Why It Was Great: Drake worked not one but two NBA players into this line. And he did so with a purpose as this line helped solidify where Drake was at in his career on his first album. He was becoming a star and had to prove it. He used NBA players to help get that point across.
Photo Credit: Photo Bucket
The Vibe Mix Newsletter
All things VIBE.
Daily - Straight to your inbox.
Whoops!
All things VIBE.
You have signed up and will start receiving the Vibe Mix Newsletter immediately.
