Ma$e has made a bold claim about his basketball skills, declaring he’d average more points per game in today’s league than the vast majority of its current players.
The 48-year-old shared the statement on Tuesday’s (March 5) episode of It Is What It Is while offering his thoughts on LeBron James becoming the first NBA player to reach 40,000 points.
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The “Feel so Good” rapper gave LBJ his props before questioning the integrity and toughness of the rest of the league.
“40,000 points is a remarkable feat. I just think it’s a cupcake league, for real. I think in this league today, if I was in top shape, I could probably average about 15, 16. I’m just keeping it real,” he said with a laugh.
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He added: “When I ain’t make it in my generation, I felt like, yeah, it was a few n-ggas that was probably better than me. This generation? I feel like I could play against these n-ggas.”
Check out the clip beginning at about the 29:20 mark.
Ma$e also argued that his co-host Cam’ron, who was a standout basketball player in high school, could probably hold his own in today’s NBA.
“I think Killa, you coulda probably played 20 years against these n-ggas today. You woulda averaged probably about 18,” he said.
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Cam replied: “In my prime? Maybe. I’d have to work on my jump shot. They didn’t let us shoot jump shots. Crazy shit it, I had a great jump shot when I stopped playing basketball. When we played basketball, coach would almost want to assassinate you if shot a jump shot. You had to go to the basket.”
Ma$e even compared himself to a current player and future Hall of Famer Chris Paul.
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“When I used to see Chris Paul play, I said, ‘I coulda did that,'” he bragged. “When I saw Isaiah Thomas [on the Celtics] getting 20 and 30, I was like, ‘Yeah, I coulda got 20.'”
For context, if Ma$e were to average 15 to 16 points per game in the NBA today, that would put him among the top 75 scorers and ahead of essential role players like Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings, Derrick White of the Boston Celtics and Aaron Gordon of the defending champions Denver Nuggets.
Though the Harlem native is arguably underestimating the talent in today’s league, he was inarguably a standout basketball player back in the day.
Ma$e had significant Division I interest, but because his grades weren’t strong enough, he played basketball at SUNY Purchase, a Division III program.
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He only made it a few semesters before leaving school to pursue a music career, a decision that turned out to be a fruitful one for the former Bad Boy hitmaker.
