Shouting Out Michael Jordan And LeBron James, Drake’s ‘Name Drop’ Squad Peaks Shaquille O’Neal’s Interest

Nithin Joseph | 02/10/2023
Shouting Out Michael Jordan And LeBron James, Drake's 'Name Drop' Squad Peaks Shaquille O'Neal's Interest

Over the years, NBA superstars have become the subject of a rather interesting phenomenon. Given their celebrity status, stars like Michael Jordan, Stephen Curry, and LeBron James have been name-dropped in raps and songs. Several rappers have shown their love and support for NBA superstars. But, the one rapper who seems to name-drop more often than not is Drake. This has led to an intriguing post that Shaquille O’Neal shared on Instagram, showcasing a starting five of the players Drizzy has named in his songs.

Back in 2016, Drake openly spoke about the impact Michael Jordan had on his life. He has a great love and respect for His Airness and even revealed his desire to embody MJ every time he performs. For the most part, it’s safe to say he has succeeded. After all, Aubrey is one of the most successful performers of our generation. Thus, emulating Jordan, the player widely considered to be the GOAT of the NBA.

Shaquille O’Neal shares post of Drake’s best five name-dropped players

Shaquille O’Neal, on Instagram, gave a shout-out to Michael Jordan and LeBron James by sharing a post from Time Out Hoops. The post in question featured an all-time starting five of players rapper Drake had name-dropped in his songs.

A formidable five, it consists of himself at center, Kevin Durant at power forward, King James at small forward, MJ at shooting guard, and Stephen Curry at the point. In addition to being a great group of legends, it is definitely a team that could take the NBA by storm, and dominate the opposition.

Drizzy name-dropped the five legends in five different songs.  Shaq’s name came up in the song “Used To” featuring Lil Wayne, Jordan was mentioned in the “Barry Bonds freestyle”, Bron came up in “Non Stop”, Steph on “0 to 100”, and KD is name-dropped on the song ‘Demons’.

Clearly, Shaq is impressed with the team he finds himself on, and who wouldn’t be? You’ve got arguably the greatest center, paired up with one of the greatest point guards, two of the greatest forwards, and the man many consider to be the greatest player of all time. It’s a team full of greats, and O’Neal is certainly grateful to be among them.

Drake has also name-dropped other stars in the past including Devin Booker

Shaquille O’Neal must be happy to be among the greats name-dropped by Drake, but there have been others who have received the honor. Most notably, Devin Booker was named-dropped in the song, “Sicko Mode“. Aubrey was only a feature on the song, but his verse left quite an impact, especially on D-Book.

The Phoenix Suns star was ecstatic upon hearing the lyrics. And, reportedly, he spent an entire night in Greece playing the song on repeat.

It must be an honor having one of the greatest artists of our time name-drop you on a song. Surely, there are plenty of young stars looking to make their mark in the league. Hoping they get mentioned in Drake’s next big hit.

Post Edited By: Hitesh Nigam
Drake LeBron James Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal

About the author

Nithin Joseph

Nithin is a content writer at The SportsRush. Like his favorite athlete Kobe Bryant, the company has helped Nithin elevate his writing skills to a whole new level, especially as an NBA content writer. With over 1500 articles to his name, Nithin's love for the sport knows no bounds. And, as he continues to watch the sport on a daily basis, he hopes his fascination with the NBA, especially the Miami Heat will inspire more and more readers to give the sport a chance. Perhaps, one day making basketball in India as big as it is in the United States.

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