NBA favorite LeBron James recently revealed he thinks Lil Durk is the best rapper to play basketball.
During the latest episode of HBO’s “The Shop: Uninterrupted,” the Los Angeles Lakers all-star gave props to rappers who are also good at playing basketball, including 2 Chainz, Sheck Wes and Quavo — but he reserved his ultimate approval for Lil Durk.
Asked which rapper is the best at his sport, James rapidly fired off: “Lil Durk.”
“Lil Durk, he can hoop for real,” the hooping legend said. “Man, he lifetime hooping. He can hoop for real. Lil Durk, he’s got a fucking canon, too. He got a peel. And he look like a motherfucker that can.”
Rapper Gunna also endorsed Durk’s talents on the episode. “I played with him one time,” the “Drip Too Hard” rapper said. “He can play.”
Durk happily shared the clip from the show on his Instagram page on Sunday with the caption: “I don’t want to hear shit nomo from nobody lol let’s go @kingjames”
Durk, a Chicago native, earned his first top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 for his collaboration with Drake on “Laugh Now Cry Later” last year. He was also nominated for Video of the Year and the Viewer’s Choice Award at the 2021 BET Awards.
The rapper proudly compared himself to three-time NBA champion and two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry on Twitter after his album “7220” debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. albums chart last month.
“I can’t miss I’m like steph fr,” he tweeted with a lock emoji and a blue heart.
Many NBA players are immersed in hip-hop, with big-timers like Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant pulling off side careers in music.
On the flip side, rappers have also shown their love for the game, with Billboard Artist of the Decade Drake hosting his own recreational basketball league, and Grammy winner J. Cole hooping for the Basketball Africa League.
Watch the full discussion on HBO Max.