“He Play Like Snoop Dogg”: Despite Being a Loyal Lakers Fan, Rapper Once Picked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as His MVP Candidate

Legendary rapper Snoop Dogg has always been a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA for the longest time. Snoop has never failed to express his adoration for the ‘purple and yellows’ through the lyrics of his songs. Last year, however, Snoop chose to differ from his usual siding with the Lakers. He gave his flowers to the young Canadian guard from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as his pick for last season’s MVP title.

Joining Stephen A. Smith on the ESPN show Stephen A’s World, Snoop revealed how Shai’s style of play always reminded him of himself. Speaking highly of the 25-year-old guard’s unique style of play, Snoop commented,

“Well, I kind of like that kid from OKC. What’s his name? I like that kid. He’s a sleeper. He ain’t no big-name kid. But the way he play, he play like Snoop. He kind of remind me of me.”

“He kind of remind me of me.”

Snoop is a big fan of @shaiglalex pic.twitter.com/bEXslf2p1Z

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 12, 2023

Given his amazing stats through the 2022-23 NBA season, Snoop had all the reasons to choose Shai. The Canadian youngster was one of the six players to average over 30 points per game last season and had averaged 31.4 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game for a Thunder team that was projected to win less than 25 games before the start of that season.

However, unlike Snoop’s prediction, Joel Embiid emerged as the MVP of that season. The six-time All-Star averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 66 games during the 2022-23 season. This season, as well, Embiid is leading the MVP ladder with averages of 35.1 PPG and 11.6 RPG, with Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander following closely behind.

Snoop Dogg once called out the Lakers for facing frequent injuries with Anthony Davis

Snoop Dogg has always been an ardent fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and has never failed to voice his opinion for the team. During the 2022-23 NBA season, Snoop was extremely disappointed with the performance of Anthony Davis, who had constant injury woes that riddled his performance with uncertainty throughout last season.

In an Instagram post calling LeBron James and Anthony Davis the best duo in the league, Snoop vented his frustration in the comments and wrote: “How? When we never play together for 2 weeks healthy. I’m [losing] faith. A. D. Need to get his body tight like Lebron, I’m tired of seeing him on bench in street clothes. Yeah I said it what are we doing?”

 

 

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Much of Snoop Dogg’s frustration against Anthony Davis can also be understood from their history of conflict. Thus, tensions escalating as such is something not entirely unexpected. Furthermore, Snoop Dogg had a reputation for harboring resentment, forcing Kawhi Leonard to make amends with the rapper by signing with the Los Angeles Clippers instead of the Lakers.