The NBA Playoffs will begin on Saturday April 18th. Some of the match-ups this weekend in the Eastern conference include the Milwaukee Bucks going up against the Chicago Bulls, the Boston Celtics versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Washington Wizards versus the Toronto Raptors. In the West, the Dallas Mavericks will go up against the Houston Rockets, the Portland Trail Blazers will play the Memphis Grizzlies, and New Orleans will battle the Golden State Warriors.
Billboard magazine decided to ask some of the players from the Raptors, Wizards, Trail Blazers, and Grizzlies what music they will be listening to during the NBA playoffs. In order to get him amped up for competition, the Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan will be playing Kendrick Lamar’s “Hood Politics,” Drake’s “Legend,” and Jay Z’s “Takeover.” His teammate Terrence Ross will also be listening to Lamar’s “Hood Politics” and “King Kunta,” and his record of choice for Drake is “Know Yourself.” Bradley Beal’s (Wizards) music choices are The Roots’ “Here I Come,” “Go Hard or Go Home” by Wiz Khalifa (featuring Iggy Azalea), and David Guetta’s “Dangerous” (featuring Sam Martin). The Wizard’s Kevin Seraphin music list includes Kanye West’s “Power,” J. Cole’s “Rise and Shine,” and Calvin Harris’ “Blame.”
On the westside, Damien Lillard’s (Trail Blazers) playlist is not as hardcore, but it is still inspirational. He will be listening to Goapele’s “Closer” and Nas’ “Daughters.” The Trail Blazers’ C.J. McCollum’s playlist includes “Blessings” by Big Sean (featuring Drake and Kanye West), and “One Mic” by Nas. Finally, Courtney Lee of the Grizzlies needs Tupac Shakur’s “When We Ride On Our Enemies” and the rapper’s “Picture Me Rollin'” blasting in his headphones. His teammates Kosta Koufos and Tony Allen both choose Drake to get them ready for competition. Their list of Drake songs include “10 Bands,” “Headlines,” “No Tellin’,” and “Energy.”
Drake’s presence in the NBA will not only be blasting through these players’ headphones, the rapper is also the Toronto Raptors’ Brand Ambassador. Fans can expect to see Drake sitting on the sidelines at the Raptors’ Playoff games, and the team is expected to make a deep run in this year’s playoffs. The Raptors’ record is 49-33, and they are first in the Atlantic Division.
FDRMX Eyes: James Paterson is a pop artist from the United Kingdom. The singer-songwriter has released a music video for his song, “Read Between the Lines.”
[jwplatform b2Js4LpL-daFoP3nJ]