By David Jordan Jr
With the NBA Playoffs in full swing, the relationship with hip-hop music and basketball are on full display. Whether you’re inside an NBA Arena, watching a game on television or playing an intense game of NBA 2K on XBOX or PlayStation, hip-hop artist and their music are as visible in each of these aspects as the players are. There has always been the saying that ballplayers want to be rappers and rappers want to be ball players. Over the years there have been many NBA players that have stepped into the booth, dropped bars and released albums. Dana Barros, Chris Webber, Allen Iverson and Cedric Ceballos to name a few have all recorded albums that were released during their careers. The relationship between hoops and hip-hop presented a unique company of two individuals from both sides. NBA Legend and basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal 
and hip-hop legend and executive mogul Percy Miller a.k.a Master P, a.k.a. The Ice Cream Man 
hold the distinction as being the only two people to have ever played in the NBA that have also had albums that have reached platinum status. The mid to late 1990s was a time when hip-hop began to become a bigger part of NBA entertainment. Hip-hop stars frequented NBA games and NBA players were commonly seen in music videos on BET, MTV, vh1 and The Box (do you remember the box) either lacing tracks or simply making cameos. The 1998 and 1999 NBA Preseason would see Master P have the opportunity to continue a hoop dream deferred ( Miller attended the University of Houston on a basketball scholarship) by attending training camp and playing NBA preseason games with the Charlotte Hornets in 1998 and the Toronto Raptors in 1999. Shaquille O’Neal, then a Los Angeles Laker, had by that time released four studio albums, his first being Shaq Diesel (released in 1993) which went on to reach platinum status. By the time Master P had touched an NBA floor in 1998 he had two platinum albums under his belt (three by 1999 when he was in a Raptors uniform) along with game to legitimize his quest for an NBA roster spot. O’Neal and Miller both had the success which so many musicians and athletes have sought for so long; the opportunity to not only pursue a career in both music or sports but to also be highly successful in that realm.
Shaquille O’Neal
Shaq Diesel (1993) Platinum
Master P 
Ice Cream Man (1996) Platinum
Ghetto D (1997) Platinum 
MP da Last Don (1998) Platinum
