Kevin Durant is listed in Drake’s For All the Dogs album credits, for some reason

Drake, we have questions.

Team Drizzy, new music has arrived. Drake’s new album, For All the Dogs, is here. And, for some reason, Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant has an album credit.

In all fairness, Drake has never been shy about the relationship between pop culture and sports. In his song Thank Me Now, he says, “I swear sports and music are so synonymous ’cause we want to be them, and they want to be us.”

Over the years, Drake has popped up at plenty of games, bet on major events like the NBA Finals, and enlisted the help of athletes for his music. Most recently, during his “It’s All A Blur Tour,” he partnered with seven stars, including Durant.

He’s working with Durant again but in an unusual capacity.

Durant is noted as the sole individual responsible for the A&R (or artists and repertoire) for Drake’s new album. According to Nikola Iliev of Forbes, the role of an A&R person is to listen to music and find people they think have potential. That person then works with those artists to do things such as choosing the right song to record. The A&R person also helps promote music and get it played on the radio and television.

Transparently, Drake likely doesn’t need much help in those departments. He probably has a team of people that do that for him. However, Durant might have helped to secure some of the other talent on the album. Jazz Monroe and Matthew Strauss of Pitchfork compiled a list for the project, detailing how it includes massive talent like J. Cole, rapper and singer Bad Bunny, and newcomer SexxyRed.

Either way, this is a classy move by Drake. Well done, Aubrey.

NBA 2K23: Ratings revealed for 5 highest-ranked rookie players

The ratings of five rookie players have been unveiled ahead of the launch of NBA 2K23 on Friday.

2K Sports on Tuesday offered a glimpse of the first batch of ratings for NBA 2K23 with the incoming class of rookies among those revealed prior to the official launch on Friday.

The latest iteration of the popular video game will feature Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker on the cover of most editions. Hall of Famer Michael Jordan will grace the cover of two special versions while legends Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will be on the “WNBA” edition.

J. Cole will serve as the cover star on the “DREAMER” edition.

The ratings of several players have been released recently, while some categories, such as the top shooters and dunkers, were also unveiled. The ratings for each rookie will be known on Friday when the game is live on all platforms.

Rookie Wire took a look at the five highest-rated first-year players.

J. Cole signs with Canadian basketball league to keep his hoop dreams alive

Cole is taking his talents from Rwanda to Toronto.

At this point, J. Cole’s love for basketball is well known. Not only does the rapper and producer frequently reference the NBA in his music, he played for Rwanda in the Basketball Africa League last year. In college, he nearly made the team at St. John’s as a walk-on, and last September, the 37-year-old practiced with the Orlando Magic.

We can debate about how good Cole actually is, but it’s clear he’s got a little game and isn’t ready to give up on playing professionally. This year, the Fayetteville, North Carolina, native is taking his talents to the Canadian Elite Basketball League as a member of the Scarborough Shooting Stars, the CEBL announced Thursday.

Scarborough — a district of Toronto, Ontario — is one of three expansion teams to begin their inaugural seasons in the CEBL this summer, bringing the league’s number of franchises up to 10. The Shooting Stars’ first game is on May 26, though Cole won’t likely be able to complete a full season, as he begins touring on June 10.

The team has another name that might be familiar to basketball fans, as former NBA All-Star Jamaal Magloire is Scarborough’s vice president and senior adviser. The team is partly owned by Nicholas Carino, one of the co-founders of J. Cole contemporary Drake’s OVO brand.

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4 of the most memorable dunks in NBA Celebrity All-Star Game history

Remembering the best dunks during the NBA’s Celebrity All-Star games.

From my seat, NBA All-Star Weekend is always a fun time. The celebrities are out, the best basketball players in the world get together to enjoy one another’s company for the weekend, and then of course there’s all of the cool events that take place.

Lost in the sauce of the Saturday festivities and the Sunday game is the Celebrity All-Star Game on Friday night. The game isn’t ever good, because there aren’t many participants that probably pick up a basketball more than a few times a year. Yet, the game usually leaves us with at least one or two moments that make us say, “WOW.”

Here are a few moments that stand out above the rest.

His place in the Warriors’ pecking …

Jay-Z is really unbeatable in ‘Verzuz’ but here are 9 rappers who might make it fun

No one is touching Hov but we would love to see these.

The internet has been in a fracas over the last few days because of one Jay-Z. The God MC. The greatest rapper of all time. Ever.

What’d he do? He let us know just how good he is.

Hov hopped in a Twitter Space with Alicia Keys earlier this week and was asked about the potential of him doing a “Verzuz” battle. For those of us who don’t know, “Verzuz” is an online platform where artists from across genres get together and play music against each other in a quasi competition.

It’s not really competitive — it’s all in fun. But it’s nice to talk about who would give who a good run.

Jay-Z set the internet ablaze by saying there was no one out there who could compete with him.

Honestly? He’s not wrong. Jay-Z is pretty untouchable on most accounts. But while Jay might be untouchable, though, that doesn’t mean he can’t do a Verzuz. Someone just has to be willing to lose. And losing can be fun!

So here are some people who might make the loss a great time at the very least.

J. Cole splashed a game-winner over Franz Wagner in pickup game

Magic guard Terrence Ross offered the play-by-play of J. Cole hitting a 3-pointer over Wagner during a recent run.

Rapper J. Cole this week played in some pickup games with the Orlando Magic and apparently made quite an impression on those watching during his time on the court.

Cole, who was in Orlando ahead of his concert on Saturday, was seen running with several Magic players, including Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton among others. He also had one notable play on rookie Franz Wagner that earned a strong reaction.

Magic guard Terrence Ross was in the practice facility watching Cole and his teammates play and saw it all unfold. Ross offered the play-by-play on his podcast of the sequence in which Cole splashed a game-winning 3-pointer over Wagner.

There was one game, he hadn’t really done much but somebody was driving to the hole and they drove to his corner and the dude off of him, which was Franz Wagner, pulls off and they swing it to J. Cole in the corner. Franz runs at him, he was trying to block it and goes up there. Bro, J.Cole for game! Splash! A guy that can shoot like that from the corner is always reliable. People were like, ‘Oh!’ I mean, it was J. Cole. He just splashed Franz Wagner for game. It was cool, though.

Cole has been known to show up in various locations and hoop with players, often playing in pickup games in New York City. Ross said Cole mostly just facilitated during the runs but would pull up from 3-point range on a few occasions.

The Grammy Award winner was praised by some Magic players for his knowledge of the game and ability to play. Certainly, Wagner knows what he is capable of doing on the court.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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J Cole practiced with the Orlando Magic and fans want the team to sign him

J Cole really practiced with the Orlando Magic.

Here we go again. Yet another NBA team teasing their fans with a J Cole appearance of some sort.

The Detroit Pistons did it with a J Cole jersey earlier this year along with a “tryout” offer that, let’s be honest, just didn’t seem to be real. But this time, we at least got Cole on the court.

The hip-hop superstar was actually running with the Orlando Magic in a team practice. Like, it was really him. Practicing. With the Magic. Cole Anthony, RJ Hampton. All of them.

It was pretty wild to see J Cole in Orlando Magic gear. And, look, there’s almost no chance he signs with the squad.

But fans wanted the Magic to make it real, anyway.

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J. Cole linked up with Cole Anthony, Magic for workout in Orlando

J. Cole on Wednesday linked up with several Magic players for a pickup game at the team practice facility.

Rapper J. Cole on Wednesday linked up with Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton and several other players on the Orlando Magic for a pickup game at the team practice facility.

Cole, whose real name is Jermaine Cole, was in Orlando ahead of his upcoming concert at the Amway Center with 21 Savage. “The Off-Season Tour” kicks off in Miami on Friday and will be in Orlando the following night.

He has been known to show up in various locations and hoop with players, often playing in pickup games in New York City. In addition to Anthony and Hampton, Magic forward Moe Wagner was also pictured participating in the game.

The Magic also presented Cole with a custom-made No. 15 jersey.

Cole previously participated in the Basketball Africa League over the summer with the Rwanda Patriots Basketball Club. He registered five points, five rebounds and three assists across three games prior to exiting the limited season in Rwanda.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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