NBA star Damian Lillard found himself in the middle of a rap beef during the NBA Draft on Thursday night. The Portland Trail Blazers guard was going back-and-forth with Sacramento Kings big man Marvin Bagley III. Earlier in the day, Bagley appeared on ESPN’s First Take when he was asked by Max Kellerman about his love of hip hop.
Like Lillard, Bagley likes to rap in his free time Kellerman asked who the former Duke star thought was the best rapper in the NBA.
Naturally, Bagley named himself.
“Man, me. Me. Man, I love music. I love music. So, I’m gonna go with myself,” Bagley said. “For sure.”
That caught the attention of Lillard, who responded immediately on Twitter by saying, “I won’t be on first take… but if that’s what he want … shoot.”
Sure enough, Bagley fired off the first shot.
Unfortunately for Bagley, he had no idea what he was getting into and Lillard quickly responded in the middle of the draft to immediately shut down any potential “battle.” Lillard ethered Bagley with his diss track and it was immediately game, set, match.
“I was being quiet cuz I just rap and enjoy the music bra,” Lillard added in a follow-up tweet. “But he keep mentioning my name.”
That is cold blooded.
After Lillard’s track, a number of NBA players like Bradley Beal, Seth Curry, Moe Harkless, Jusuf Nurkic, Miles Bridges, Andre Drummond all declared Lillard the winner. Even rapper Joe Budden chimed in and said that it was a wrap.
“Ended that one in a matter of hours lol,” Budden tweeted.
Let that be a lesson to other youngsters in the league. If you want to enjoy some rapping in your free time, have at it. But if you want to battle with Damian Lillard, know that you are in over your head against one of the best emcees in the sports world.