Marvin Bagley III (MB3FIVE)
Team: Washington Wizards
Genre: Hip-hop
Latest project: Marv Vs. Marv II, a 13-track album released October 2021
Listen here.
12 Pro Basketball Players Who Are Kick-Ass Musicians Off The Court
Written by djfrosty on February 16, 2024
The National Basketball Association is home to a few hundred athletes who are the best in the world at what they do. But many of those players have talents beyond shooting hoops, too — and several of these pro ballers nurture a passion for music off the court.
For some, the artform is simply a side hobby. Whether it’s laying down beats, free-styling bars or diligently practicing an instrument, music offers them a temporary escape from the pressures of making baskets and winning games.
For others, music is just as serious a career as b-ball. These players spend their off-seasons in recording studios, filming music videos or plotting their next song or album rollout.
Ahead of this year’s All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, Billboard is celebrating both types of music lovers — casual and committed — in the NBA. The 2023-24 season has been rife with players with musical pursuits, from rap spitfires Miles Bridges and Damian Lillard to piano prodigy Zeke Nnaji.
These talented individuals, it should be noted, follow a long history of musicians in the league. Ex-Lakers champion Shaquille O’Neal is a successful rapper and DJ who’s charted several songs on the Billboard Hot 100; late GOAT Kobe Bryant recorded a rap album, the never-released Visions, in 2000; Allen Iverson, Lou Williams, Dwight Howard, Iman Shumpert and more NBA fixtures have all released songs during their careers.
As for those who are currently still in the NBA, keep reading to see 12 musically gifted players — as well as the teams they play for (as of the 2023-24 season), their preferred genres and their latest releases — below.
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Image Credit: Stacy Revere/Getty Images -
Lonzo Ball (Zo)
Image Credit: Michael Reaves/Getty Images Team: Chicago Bulls
Genre: Hip-hop
Latest project: Ball-Star Pack, an eight-track album released February 2022Listen here.
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Miles Bridges (RTB MB)
Image Credit: Elsa/Getty Images Team: Charlotte Hornets
Genre: Hip-hop
Latest project: “Bombaclot” with Beatsbycali and RTB ChiListen here.
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Brandon Clarke (BCVS)
Image Credit: Justin Ford/Getty Images Team: Memphis Grizzlies
Genre: Hip-hop
Latest release: Ride The Lightning, a 14-track album released November 2023“It’s become something I love doing,” Clarke tells Billboard, noting it was his teammate and fellow musician, Jaren Jackson Jr., who got him involved in music. “It’s my No. 1 hobby outside of hoops. I have a studio inside of my house now, and I’m good friends with my engineer. I love to be able to find pockets of time to sit down and make a couple of songs. I listen to beats and write lyrics all the time on flights to and from cities we play in.”
Listen here.
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Andre Drummond (DRUMMXND)
Image Credit: Michael Reaves/Getty Images Team: Chicago Bulls
Genre: Hip-hop
Latest project: “Listen,” released in May 2019Listen here.
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Aaron Gordon
Image Credit: Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images Team: Denver Nuggets
Genre: Hip-hop
Latest project: “Euro Freestyle,” released July 2023Listen here.
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Danuel House Jr. (4)
Image Credit: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images Team: Free agent (last played on Philadelphia 76ers)
Genre: Hip-hop
Latest project: “Motion,” released November 2023Listen here.
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Jaren Jackson Jr. (Trip J)
Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images Team: Memphis Grizzlies
Genre: Hip-hop
Latest project: KND, a nine-track album released September 2023“I want to continue to find my sound and continue to get better in the space,” Jackson tells Billboard. “I have learned so much in five years and know I will keep learning as time goes on … The music industry is all about getting better and I want to continue growing with those who have been around me since day one.”
Listen here.
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Damian Lillard (Dame D.O.L.L.A)
Image Credit: Soobum Im/Getty Images Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Genre: Hip-hop
Latest project: Don D.O.L.L.A. Life Lately Edition, a two-sided album released November 2023Listen here.
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JaVale McGee (Pierre)
Image Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Team: Sacramento Kings
Genre: Hip-hop
Latest release: SIMULATION, a 10-track album released October 2021The Michigan native is also a self-taught producer, with a credit on Justin Bieber’s “Available.”
Listen here.
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Zeke Nnaji
Image Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images Team: Denver Nuggets
Instrument: Piano“Early on, I noticed a lot of correlations between practicing piano and playing basketball — the same dedication, the same practice that you have to put into your craft,” Nnaji, who’s been playing keys since he was about six years old, tells Billboard. “The same kind of discipline I had on the piano, I could apply to basketball. It made both of them that much easier, being able to see how each helps the other.”
Listen here.
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Victor Oladipo
Image Credit: David Jensen/Getty Images Team: Miami Heat
Genre: R&B
Latest project: Tunde, a six-track EP released February 2023Listen here.