What’s your favorite example of an athlete making a cameo in a music video? Over the last few months, we’ve documented some of the best examples of NBA players who have popped up in music videos over the years, as a number of the biggest names in basketball have shown love to artists over the years.
The thing is there are a ton of examples of this, so many that we’ve gone back to the well once again. Here are six more examples from over the years of NBA players making cameos in music videos.
J.R. Smith: “BedRock” by Young Money
The most famous track on “We Are Young Money,” the compilation album by Young Money Entertainment, was the single “BedRock,” which includes verses by Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Tyga, and Jae Millz, along with an iconic hook by Lloyd. There are a ton of cameos in this, which includes a very brief one from Smith, who at the time was a member of the Denver Nuggets, towards the end.
LeBron James: “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” by Jay-Z
Jay-Z packs a ton into the music video for the first single off of “The Blueprint 3,” which included him playing some 1-on-1 with the future Hall of Fame inductee. At one point, we see Hov take a jumper that LeBron contests, although the camera cuts away before we could see if it went in or not. Still, with all respect to Jay-Z, I think I’d take LeBron in that one.
Stephon Marbury and Kenny Anderson: “Whatcha Gon Do?” by Terror Squad
Terror Squad are New York through and through, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that a pair of New York legends appeared in the video for “Whatcha Gon Do?” It would be safe to assume that Starbury and Mr. Chibbs would be a handful to play 2-on-2 against, and unfortunately for Fat Joe and Cuban Link, they learned that lesson the hard way in this … well, at least for the first half of the video or so.
Lamar Odom: “Knock Yourself Out” by Jadakiss
In keeping with the New York theme, Jadakiss got a cameo from one of Queens’ finest. Then again, Odom’s brief cameo in this video features him dancing while wearing his own jersey from his time as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Ray Allen: “He Got Game” by Public Enemy feat. Stephen Stills
This one is kind of cheating, because Public Enemy was tasked with putting together the soundtrack for the 1998 Spike Lee film that shares a name with this single, the only one released off of the album. Unsurprisingly, Allen featured in the music video heavily, as he starred in “He Got Game” as Jesus Shuttlesworth. He was great in the movie, and the track is pretty great, too.
Alonzo Mourning, Muggsy Bogues, Alex English, Walt Williams, Charles Smith: “Only Wanna Be With You” by Hootie and the Blowfish
There are a ton of sports cameos in the music video for the third single off of “Cracked Rear View,” with guys like Chris Berman and Dan Marino making appearances. There’s a ton of NBA talent, too, as Mourning, Bogues, English, Williams, and Smith all play basketball against Hootie and the Blowfish. Why, you may ask? Well, according to Darius Rucker in a piece that Entertainment Weekly ran in 1995, “it was just a way to meet all our idols.”
