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Steph Curry And LeBron James Playfully Discuss Whether Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Is Played Out

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lebron james steph curry 2024 USA Basketball Showcase - USA v Serbia
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LeBron James rapped Kendrick Lamar’s verse from Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” during the Los Angeles Lakers’ pregame warmups on March 31. Three months and three Drake diss tracks later, James is still Team Kendrick.

On Wednesday, July 17, Lamar’s “Not Like Us” played while James and Steph Curry warmed up before USA Basketball’s exhibition game against Serbia ahead of this month’s 2024 Paris Olympics. In a video circulated by Complex on X (formerly Twitter), Curry can be seen expressing semi-joking, semi-serious annoyance to hear Lamar’s ubiquitous Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper yet again. “It’s not the only song in America,” Curry said, smiling and laughing. James shrugged and appeared to say, “As much as I love it, we’ve got to get something else.”

Lamar would probably love to release another Drake diss track. The only surer bet than USA Basketball winning Olympic gold might be Lamar having several Drake diss tracks in the vault, ready for deployment at any given moment. But for now, “Not Like Us” is the soundtrack to Lamar’s victory lap.

Curry and James are far from the first athletes to weigh in, as DeMar DeRozan appeared in the “Not Like Us” video, and Serena Williams incorporated the song into her ESPYs opening monologue. The longevity of “Not Like Us” has been pretty incredible, but it seems at least some players are a bit tired of hearing it in every arena.

DeMar DeRozan Still Loves Drake But Explained That Kendrick Lamar Is ‘Basically Family’

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DeMar DeRozan has suddenly found himself in the middle of rap’s most high-profile feud. After spending years as a member of the Toronto Raptors and forming a relationship with Drake, DeRozan appeared at Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out concert, then went on stage during as Lamar performed the song “Not Like Us,” and then appeared in the music video for the track.

It led to some questions about whose side he is on here, and fortunately, DeRozan got asked about the whole ordeal by Sean Cunningham of KTXL in Sacramento. Basically, DeRozan still has love for Drake, but his relationship with Lamar goes back a very long time, to the point that he considers him “basically family.”

“I mean, love Drake, love Drake, you always could play him,” DeRozan said when asked if they can keep playing Drake at Sacramento Kings games. “Kendrick’s been a friend of mine, family, damn near family for a long time, for a while. We from the same city, grew up damn near in the same neighborhood. So, it’s always been, it hasn’t always been publicized, but that’s basically family.”

DeRozan, of course, is the newest member of the Kings roster after joining the team thanks to a sign-and-trade. Whether Drake or Kendrick attend any Kings games because of this remains to be seen.

DeMar DeRozan Got Welcomed By Kings Fans In Sacramento While ‘Not Like Us’ Played

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The NBA is heading to Las Vegas for Summer League later this week, but before that, a few teams are participating in the California Classic Summer League in San Francisco and Sacramento. On Saturday night, a collection of Sacramento Kings players took on the Chinese National Team at Golden 1 Center, and at one point, the latest addition to the team’s roster showed up.

The Kings pulled off a sign-and-trade earlier in the evening to acquire DeMar DeRozan from the Chicago Bulls — the San Antonio Spurs were also involved in the deal. It had previously been reported that DeRozan was in town to meet with Sacramento’s decision makers, and ultimately, an arrangement got sorted out to bring DeRozan in as a running mate for De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. And as an added bonus, because there were a ton of Kings fans in the arena to watch the team, DeRozan got to show up to a hero’s welcome, all while the Kendrick Lamar track “Not Like Us” played.

DeRozan joined Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, who presumably spent a ton of time talking to him throughout the day. And of course, the soundtrack couldn’t have been much better, as DeRozan appeared in the music video that Lamar dropped earlier this week and joined him on stage as he performed the song at The Pop Out last month.

Ice Cube’s BIG3 Basketball League Expands With Teams In Houston And Miami

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After Ice Cube’s 3-on-3 basketball league, The BIG3, announced it was moving to a more traditional, city-based model in May with the $10 million sale of its first franchise in Los Angeles, the league has once again expanded to two new cities, Houston and Miami, according to Billboard. While the league started out with a touring model — sort of like the barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters — its proprietor said at the time, “Basing our teams in home cities allows BIG3 to engage local communities and fanbases. Bringing in ownership groups each with their own sports expertise, business, and capabilities beginning in 2025 will allow BIG3 to grow exponentially.”

The newest ownership consists of businessmen Eric Mullins and Milton Carroll, who will base their team in Houston, and hospitality executive Heath Freeman will put his team in Miami. It’s unknown what will happen with the existing teams, which consist of the Ghost Ballers, 3 Headed Monsters, 3’s Company, Aliens, Ball Hogs, Bivouac, Enemies, Killer 3s, Power, Tri-State, Trilogy, and Triplets, or whatever became of the cryptocurrency that allowed fans to purchase ownership in teams that was announced in 2022.

In March, Cube ruffled feathers in the basketball community by allegedly offering then-Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark a $5 million deal to play in the upcoming BIG3 season, a move that some criticized as opportunistic. Still, it seems to have drawn the right kind of attention, too, with new owners lining up to take the league into its next phase.

DeMar DeRozan Makes A Cameo In Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Video

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When Kendrick Lamar and Drake started beefing earlier this year, I’m not sure anyone expected one of the diss tracks in their back-and-forth to become the song of the summer, but Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” has become an inescapable anthem that just keeps building momentum.

First there was “The Pop Out”, where Lamar filled the Forum in L.A. and drew millions of viewers on Amazon for a celebration of Los Angeles, culminating in him performing “Not Like Us” not one, not two, not three, not four, but five times in a row to close out the show. During his fourth time running it back, he brought up seemingly all of L.A. onto the stage, including a pair of NBA players, as L.A. natives Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan gleefully danced on stage.

The victory lap continued as shortly after “The Pop Out”, Kendrick was seen filming the “Not Like Us” music video, and the Compton native dropped the visuals on July 4. In the video, DeRozan makes an appearance during Lamar’s “I’m glad DeRoz’ came home, y’all didn’t deserve him neither” line (2:42 mark), referencing the former Raptor’s stint in Toronto. Getting one of Drake’s beloved Raptors players to make a video appearance in a diss track is a special kind of twist of the knife from Kendrick, who has looked to find every possible way to make Drake miserable during this beef.

As for DeRozan, he is still figuring out where he’ll play next season, as it seems increasingly unlikely he’ll be back in Chicago and is exploring sign-and-trade options — which figure to include Los Angeles as a possible destination.

Las Vegas Aces Star A’ja Wilson Was Hilariously Eager To Name Beyoncé As The Artist She Wants To Do A Vegas Residency

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Las Vegas isn’t just where artists go to do long-term residencies when they need a break from touring. It’s also the home of several sports teams, including the WNBA’s Aces, who played the Indiana Fever on ESPN last night. Naturally, ESPN anchor Michael Eaves asked the Aces star forward A’ja Wilson after the game if there were any artists she wanted to see perform a residency in Vegas. The WNBA’s best player didn’t even let Eaves get the question out before responding with a relatable, one-word answer: Beyoncé.

“She doesn’t even have to come here for a residency,” she conceded. “She could just come to a game and just say ‘what’s up’ to us, and we’re fine, ’cause I know she got other stuff to do. Beyoncé, girl…”

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With the WNBA increasing in popularity lately, it doesn’t sound like a pipe dream (I, personally, am disappointed that Bey hasn’t hit up a game yet, though — maybe she was waiting for the Houston Comets to come back). The Chicago Sky’s rookie forward Angel Reese recently joined Megan Thee Stallion on stage during her tour stop in the Windy City, and the Phoenix Mercury duo of Brittney Griner and Natasha Cloud got Meg’s attention to invite her to a game when her tour reached the Valley of the Sun. Additionally, the W has been making in-roads into the world of music, tapping Kehlani to perform at last year’s All-Star Game and to narrate the launch video for the expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries. If Beyoncé does give the league a co-sign, its skyrocketing popularity would be supercharged, for sure.

Bronny James Is Honoring Juice WRLD By Wearing 9 With The Lakers

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Bronny James met with the media for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. James and fellow 2024 NBA Draft selection Dalton Knecht spoke about their jump to the league, and while James unsurprisingly got plenty of questions about one Laker teammate in particular, both players got the chance to dive into why they are wearing their respective jersey numbers.

James will wear the No. 9 in Los Angeles, and explained how he did it as a way to honor Juice WRLD, the rapper who passed away back in 2019.

“Juice has just been a big part of me keeping calm in some situations that I’ve been through,” James explained. “So yeah, just paying homage to him, especially cause he passed, it’s a really important thing for me.”

For Knecht, things were a little more simple, as he decided to take advantage of the fact that his college number is worn by Anthony Davis by going with a pun based on his last name.

“I knew eventually, like, I probably would have to run into the number 4,” Knecht said. “But, 3’s been my number my whole life, and then, yeah, 3, AD got it, so why not do Knecht 4? Why not?”

Bronny James Is Honoring Juice WRLD By Wearing 9 With The Lakers

by
bronny james juice wrld
Getty Image

Bronny James met with the media for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. James and fellow 2024 NBA Draft selection Dalton Knecht spoke about their jump to the league, and while James unsurprisingly got plenty of questions about one Laker teammate in particular, both players got the chance to dive into why they are wearing their respective jersey numbers.

James will wear the No. 9 in Los Angeles, and explained how he did it as a way to honor Juice WRLD, the rapper who passed away back in 2019.

“Juice has just been a big part of me keeping calm in some situations that I’ve been through,” James explained. “So yeah, just paying homage to him, especially cause he passed, it’s a really important thing for me.”

For Knecht, things were a little more simple, as he decided to take advantage of the fact that his college number is worn by Anthony Davis by going with a pun based on his last name.

“I knew eventually, like, I probably would have to run into the number 4,” Knecht said. “But, 3’s been my number my whole life, and then, yeah, 3, AD got it, so why not do Knecht 4? Why not?”

SZA Relives Her Freakishly Flexible Gymnast Dreams With Simone Biles In The New 2024 Paris Olympics Promo Video

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Similar to professional sports, music is a competitive arena. The 2024 Paris Olympics has only heightened the tension in the air. But the lighthearted mashups of competitors in the games and music’s biggest stars has shown just how interwoven things are.

Last month, Snoop Dogg vowed to give up smoke (but for real this time) to cover the showdowns. Yesterday (July 1), SZA relived her inner gymnast dreams with Simone Biles.

In the pair’s sit down, SZA showed off her freakishly flexible skills in a friendly handstand battle. When asked about her abilities, the “Saturn” singer revealed to Biles that before pursuing a career in music, she trained to be a gymnast. Biles then asked what made her leave the life of an athlete behind.

“When it was clear to me that I wasn’t going to be a national gymnast,” she said. “I was like, ‘Ok, let me see what I can do. See what else I could do.”

SZA took to Instagram to share the episode and praise Biles. “I was SO honored to hang out with you, Simone Biles 🥹🤸🏾‍♀️🐐,” she wrote. “THIS FELT LIKE A FEVER DREAM. Good luck at your THIRD Olympic Games ! 🤞🏾🏅#ParisOlympics.”

Watch the full conversation behind SZA and Simone Biles below.

Jimmy Butler Complained To Camila Cabello That Heat Fans ‘Never Show Up On Time’

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For years, Miami fans have gotten heat (pun intended) for not exactly being the most punctual fan base in the NBA. A combination of some heavy traffic and living in a city with beaches and restaurants and plenty to do means a lot of Heat games start with a sparsely filled arena, eventually reaching capacity well after the opening tip.

Miami fans will defend themselves with a variety of excuses, including some very legitimate ones, but it is noticeable and it’s not just fans of other teams or the media that see it. In a new video with Complex, Jimmy Butler sat down with pop star Camila Cabello to talk about their shared home city, and while Butler made clear he loves the people of Miami, he also couldn’t help but complain about the tardiness of the fans, calling it the worst thing about the city.

Butler wants to have the building “rocking” from the jump, but it tends to be a slow build to the energy at home games for the Heat. It’ll be interesting to see how this goes over with Heat fans. Butler, for his part, has one more year left on his deal with the Heat and extension talks with the organization have seemingly not gotten far. That said, while there was reporting earlier this summer that could lead to Butler pushing his way out via trade, more recently the indication has been he’ll play out the year with the Heat whether he’s got a long-term deal or not. Either way, he’d like to see the Kaseya Center fill up a bit earlier than usual next season.