Strip club culture is real in the NBA with the most well-known club being Magic City in Atlanta. For players who are in town to play the Hawks, a visit to Magic City has almost become a rite of passage, not only for its dancers, but for its famous wings.
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There are legendary stories of players at Magic City, and whether they’re fact or fiction doesn’t really matter. By this point, they’ve taken on a life of their own.
Did James Harden really have his jersey retired in the club for spending $1 million in a single night? Who can say? Did Lou Williams really earn his ‘Lemon Pepper Lou’ nickname because he left the NBA bubble to get some of Magic City’s wings? He denies it, but the truth never got in the way of a good story.
Jermaine Dupri is synonymous with Atlanta. A rapper, songwriter and producer, his So So Def label has been instrumental in shaping the Atlanta hip hop and R&B scene and this week, he was the featured guest on Carmelo Anthony’s 7PM in Brooklyn podcast. Dupri and Melo spoke about Magic City as an important Atlanta institution and the music mogul even said that Shaquille O’Neal once closed a mega-deal there.
“Shaq got his $120 million deal while he was in Magic,” Dupri revealed. “His agent called him on the phone while he was in Magic and told him the deal was closed. He was like, ‘I’m in Magic City right now.’ If you get that much money at that particular point in time while you’re getting some dances, you could just run it up right then and there. Everybody dancing, everybody dancing. Turn the lights on,” he laughed.
Shaq has never been shy about throwing his money around (see his immense car collection for proof). According to Melo though, he’s the exception. “Most strippers would tell you: athletes is cheap. Athletes ain’t spending no bread in the strip club. They do it quietly,” he said.
He also explained that though Magic City was a can’t-miss stop on any road trip, the veterans he played with early in his career, like Kenyon Martin and Allen Iverson, knew not to take things too far.
“They showed you the ropes, they showed you what to do and what not to do,” Melo said. “They showed you, ‘Hey, we gonna go and we gonna have a team outing tonight because I think we need it before this road trip.'”
“Then there’s other times, it’s like, ‘Yo, we gonna go to Magic City early, as soon as we get in … But look, we ain’t f****** around tonight, because we gotta get out of here and we gotta go play tomorrow.”
It’s wild that a strip club has become such a cultural institution, but there’s no denying that it’s true. Magic City’s influence remains strong, but the smart teams know not to let it derail their business trip.
The Hawks have made some savvy moves this offseason, such as adding Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kristaps Porzingis. In a weakened Eastern conference, they could make some noise next year. Don’t be surprised if Magic City gives them just a little bit extra homecourt advantage sometimes.
