The Bay Area isn't just known for its basketball. Rap battles have a long history here, too.
Oakland native and Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard reminded young Kings big man Marvin Bagley of that this past offseason. Lillard hit Bagley with not one but two diss tracks back in June.
Bagley looks like a budding star in the league, but Lillard is the cream of the crop when it comes to rappers in the NBA. NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Brian Shaw, who spent 14 seasons in the NBA and also is an Oakland native, agrees.
"If you ask me who won between him [Lillard] and Marvin Bagley, Dame all day," Shaw said on the latest episode of "The Habershow" podcast. "And anybody that comes after Dame, they better have four or five songs ready to go, because he will go into the studio that night and have it out the next day."
Bagley dropped his first album "BIG JREAMS" in August. And he had plenty of fun battling Lillard, too.
"It's all love, man. It's just rappin'," Bagley said to NBC Sports California's James Ham in late June. "I respect Dame. I like his music. He's doing everything that I'm trying to do. He's got a shoe, he's in the league and he's been an All-Star, he makes music. Everything I'm trying to do, he's done."
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While he has a bright future in The Association, Bagley will spend at least the next month on the shelf. Last year's No. 2 pick in the draft broke his thumb in the Kings' season-opening 124-95 loss to the Suns.
He is sure to focus on getting back on the floor as soon as possible, but Bagley does have a little bit of extra time to get back in the studio now. Check his Twitter, another single could be on the way.
