When Washington Wizards fans show up at Capital One Arena this season, watch the team’s broadcasts on TV, and even follow the series on social media, they may hear the unfamiliar voice of one in every of the team’s players.

Forward Marvin Bagley III, who was traded to the Wizards in January after spending the primary 6 1/2 seasons of his profession with the Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons, shall be heard across all media outlets as a participant within the Wizards’ local music initiative, and the community shall be introduced to his hip-hop alter ego MB3FIVE . The Wizards launched the Wizards DMV music portal in August 2023 to highlight music artists from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. From tons of of entries last season, several were chosen whose music – from hip-hop to Afrobeats to local go-go favorites – was used during team broadcasts, in-arena gameplay, social videos and team events. The press release states that in lieu of monetary payment, artists “compensate for experiences, merchandise, tickets and exposure.”

Over the summer, the Wizards content team approached Bagley about participating on this season’s portal after reading about his musical past on a neighborhood news station. They believed that his music best captured the essence of what he wanted the portal to be.

“It’s just powerful music,” said Bernard Palin, senior director of digital media at Monumental Sports & Entertainment. “I feel it has an incredible sound. I really like this atmosphere, I really like this energy. I really like the story he tells. And I really like that it is so authentic.

“Honestly, using his music was just a no-brainer.”

Bagley, who averaged 13.3 points and eight.1 rebounds in 24 games for the Wizards last season, was a straightforward sell after participating.

“I was just excited to do it, show my passion, showcase my songs and music,” he said.

The Tempe, Arizona native said he has been writing and rapping because the age of 5, spending countless days sitting within the backseat of his father’s automobile listening to The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z and Rakim. He first recorded in a studio when he was in highschool and released his debut album in August 2019, just a little over a 12 months after the Kings were chosen second overall within the 2018 draft.

Bagley said that each one the teams he played for prior to now – the Kings, Pistons and Duke University – supported his concentrate on music during breaks in the sport, and that the Wizards did an incredible job of allowing him to truly be himself, especially through the portal.

“Obviously I’m here to compete, play basketball and play at the highest level and do everything I can for the team,” Bagley said. “But I think they did a great job of understanding that basketball doesn’t last forever and doesn’t define who I am.”

After 4 albums and three EPs, including a six-song EP released in August, Bagley believes he’s finally able to express his true self in his music. In the past, he felt he had to hold back his art because he was nervous about what the audience, the band, or his teammates would consider him. His early work included typical start-from-scratch raps (“Can’t Relate”) and fame-costing raps (“Cut the Check”). He called this era a “failure.”

Two or three years ago he asked himself whether he was giving every part he had to his music. During the pandemic, he witnessed others suffer losses, and years ago, he was still coping with the death of a young cousin in a automobile accident.

he still had the rap flex, but delved deeper into relationships, from misfortune (“Patience II”) to admiration (“Proud”) to love (“Peace”). He used to avoid swearing and using vulgar lyrics, but there are several such cases in his newer work.

“You see a lot of things that go on in this world, and you get a different perspective just from looking,” Bagley said, “and that’s where my perspective comes from.”

Time on this earth is brief, Bagley told himself, and if music is for self-expression, why hold back. Why inhibit your creative development by fear of opening up to yourself and the opinions of others? It was enlightening – to do away with doubts, do away with fear of the unknown and just speak from the guts. It made him feel fuller.

“I’ve always been true to myself, but when I decided to just say, ‘You know what, I’m going to do what makes me happy, I’m going to tell my story, I’m going to say what I want to say, how I feel and just really, fully be myself ” – I feel that is when the switch flipped and I could just make music that I feel comfortable with, whether people prefer it or not “I don’t like it, I don’t agree with it, or whatever it is,” Bagley said. “It doesn’t bother me anymore.”

And music shouldn’t be a distraction. Athletes are greater than only a career and wish moments to calm down and take a break from work. For some playing the Call of Duty video game, for (many) others recording a podcast. Bagley shouldn’t be the primary basketball player to rap: Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Flau’jae Johnson, Damian Lillard and others.

Bagley’s musical interests will not be an issue. Then-Kings CEO Vlade Divac told Andscape in 2018 that he “loves it when players discover themselves.” Wizards teammate Jordan Poole unprompted told reporters last week that he “loves playing with Marvin” and “listen to his album on Apple Music and Spotify.”

Bagley said he has combined basketball and music for thus long that combining the 2 is second nature to him. He recorded in highschool while being the No. 1 player in his class, ahead of future NBA star Jaren Jackson Jr. and Trae Young. A 12 months later, he averaged 21 points and 11.1 rebounds for the Duke Blue Devils as a real freshman, earning the 2018 ACC Player of the Year award.

“Music helps me spiritually, helps me mentally just get everything I’m thinking, get everything I’m feeling, everything I want to talk about, just get it out, put it to music and make it sound a certain way ” said Bagley.

Bagley is a musical chameleon. On one track (“Who Want It”) he sounds similar to late New York grunge rapper Pop Smoke, and on one other (“Proud”) he takes a detour inspired by Wizkid’s Afrobeats. He records music almost year-round and releases music almost exclusively within the off-season. He will not be within the studio much throughout the season, but during this time he refines his flow and lyrics, in addition to improving his songs. He is currently working on his next full-length album, a follow-up to his 2021 album.

I tell Bagley that music seems to be therapeutic for him, a way to release all his pent-up emotions. Then I asked him a hypothetical query: If you could not make music, how would you do away with all these thoughts and feelings?

He said he would proceed to write, whether it’s poetry or a book. He would find one other way to express himself.

“I feel like I would continue to look for different ways to release what I’m feeling or the thoughts that I’m having and just repress them so I can get them out of my head,” Bagley said.

Before we parted ways, I had to ask Bagley a vital, if rambling, query. The attacker has been following and learning rap music since he had his baby teeth. He has collaborated with hip-hop stars akin to Lil Durk and Fabolous. And in 2018 he said that his favorite album of the 12 months was Drake and his rap MVP was J. Cole.

So I had to know, purely on a skill level, who won the 2024 heavyweight battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. (I instructed Bagley not to include Lamar’s “Not Like Us” in his evaluation since it gave the impression of an unfair advantage: the song hit a record 21 weeks and was No. 1 on the highest rap chart on October 7.)

Bagley initially said he would give Drake the nod, but after admitting things were getting just a little tense between the 2 emcees, he modified his mind in favor of Lamar, who will perform the Super Bowl LIX halftime show in February 2025.

“Euphoria” continues to be one in every of my favorite songs. I listened to this song before the match. I listened to this song often,” he said. I hope he continues to make music and consistently drop. But once he falls, you’ve got no alternative but to face him and listen.

Social media users are criticizing NBA veteran Shaquille O’Neal for his awkward comments about Angel Reese. In the last episode of Reese’s Podcast “Without Embarrassment Angel”.O’Neal and the Chicago Sky forward discussed the discrepancies between the national men’s and ladies’s basketball associations.

While Reese highlighted the disparity in viewership and earnings, O’Neal shared his controversial “solution” to the problem: lower the ring so more WNBA women could dunk.

“Pretty girl diving into the hoop, I watch that all the time,” O’Neal said. “You idiot…trust me, it will change…it’s about seeing things you shouldn’t see.”

Confessing that she hates it when men make such suggestions in a discussion, Reese dismissed O’Neal’s comment, noting that there are women within the WNBA who can dunk at the present height of the ring. Although the retired athlete clarified his statement by explaining that viewers like to see things they’ve never seen before, the conversation took a nasty turn when O’Neal commented on Angel Reese’s appearance.

“If you listen to my method, your dream will surely come true lower down… to a place where you can all dunk. “Imagine you’re wearing the same short shorts you wore to the ‘Wild ‘N Out’ concert and you’re diving,” he continued, referring to the shorts Reese wore while performing at the Chicago stop of the Wild ‘N Out Live Tour at beginning of this month. “Do you know how many T-shirts you’re going to sell?”

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Rolling her eyes and clearly feeling uncomfortable, Reese laughed awkwardly as O’Neal continued to talk about how the uniform change would increase sales and revenue for the WNBA.

“You are not beautiful (or) handsome, you are gorgeous. There are a lot of great women in the WNBA… Sometimes when people see all of you for the first time, they see all of you for what you do; they don’t know how damn beautiful you all are,” he added. “Men watch the games and we like what we like. (Combine that) with seeing you all dunking and your money will increase tremendously.”

Just as Reese appeared to be physically uncomfortable with O’Neal’s uncensored comments, social media users were equally concerned about his statements.

“Shaq is 52 years old. Angel Reese is 22 years old. It’s clear that Angel feels betrayed. She thought Shaq could be more like family (and he’s) realizing he’s just one other lonely pervert. Fucking disgusting,” wrote one user on X.

The others called out how disturbing it was for O’Neal to “sexualize Angel Reese when he is 30 years older than her and has children older than her.”

O’Neal’s comments were particularly disgusting considering Reese once referred to O’Neal as a “father figure” when describing their mentor-mentee relationship. Since each attended LSU before entering the skilled basketball league draft, the retired athlete was an “understanding ear” for Reese throughout the 2024 WNBA draft.

“He is extremely inspiring to me,” Reese said USA today. “He is so honest, he was there for me in difficult times. He just gets it and there is no more perfect person to be close to… He doesn’t care about me as a player, he cares about me as an individual.

Similarly, O’Neal once echoed these sentiments while explaining their unique bond.

LOS ANGELES — What do Jennifer Hudson and Clayton Kershaw have in common? Not much until Friday. But now each can say that they had the pleasure of meeting someone who, depending on who you ask, represents an enormous a part of the sport’s future.

Naomi Ryan (17) is the youngest player to ever play on the USA Baseball women’s team, which was founded in 2004, and is having her best week ever. But how she went from the national stage to the biggest stage of national entertainment is the form of experience that only comes with a bit of luck, quite a lot of ingenuity and quite a lot of support.

“I work for the Commonwealth of Virginia and we provide training on phishing emails and how to target them. They really know you,” Cornelia Ryan explained with fun from the Loge level at Dodger Stadium, where she and her daughter attended the first game of the World Series on Oct. 25. “So I receive this email and it’s from someone claiming to be J. Hud’s producer. They also want to contemplate Naomi for some MLB promotional materials. I feel to myself, “I’ve been scammed.” They warned me about this during the training I attended last week. “

But she didn’t quit, using the age-old axiom all of us tell ourselves to be sure that we do not make the most evident mistake in the world. “So I reply to the email and say, ‘Sure.’ Let’s see how far this can go, how far this deception will go. I won’t give them my bank card.”

Turns out it was all very real, and the next thing you recognize, you are on a plane to Los Angeles, responsibilities be damned. When Hudson—former American Idol star, Dreamgirls star, and EGOT winner—calls to assist your daughter pursue her dream, you take a risk.

So she sent an email.

“Sorry, work. I do know we’re sorting things out. I understand it sucks, but yes, I’m gone. I’ll be in Los Angeles. I sent the same email to her school: “Listen, I know she’s taking physics, but…” Cornelia Ryan described, still unable to imagine that something like this even happened.

When they arrived on set, a whirlwind of pleasure and mild confusion meant that although Naomi thought she was going to do something cool with J. Hud, neither she nor her mother had any idea what to anticipate or when.

Exactly as the show wanted it, with the big reveal.

“After the show, they told me we were doing something. So I thought, “Oh, we’ll just watch it.” And then they surprised me,” said Naomi Ryan, who was wearing a blue USA baseball jersey that day, different from the white one she wore on the show. “I couldn’t think at all. I thought to myself, “Oh my God.” What’s happening now? We were both shocked.”

“I used to be proud, but I used to be nervous. I say, “Please don’t let me fall.” That’s the only thing that involves my mind. And then the super sweet Jennifer Hudson. She said, “Hey, come on, give me a hug.” I say, ‘I hugged an EGOT'” Cornelia Ryan boasted with the form of pride sisters exude after they can share their stories and glories in protected spaces. “I’m one step away from Beyonce. No, but seriously, it was amazing.

Major League Baseball donated tickets to the show, and Ryan was chosen by MLB’s Baseball and Softball Development Department. She was named to the national team as a part of the MLB Develops girls baseball program. Competing in the Trailblazer Series, Elite Development Invitational and Breakthrough Series under this umbrella, she made the squad. Otherwise it would not have happened.

Her manager, Veronica Alvarez, loves the teen game. Ryan finished third in the lineup and earned first base in all tournaments at the 2024 Women’s Baseball World Cup in August, where he won silver. That does not imply Alvarez is not still interested by it.

“Naomi is an exceptional player, isn’t she? We have a lot of exceptional players throughout our team, full of really strong, resilient and athletic women who are kind of breaking down the resistance of women in baseball. But Naomi fit into it perfectly,” Alvarez said. “She is our youngest player in the national team. It’s amazing that physically and mentally she was in a position to jump right in and be on their level. It’s amazing that she represents all of us.

“I think our team is the best in the world. We just played in the World Cup and won silver. So technically the results weren’t the best in the world,” she continued. “The level of play that the women bring on a daily basis has been a step up from the U.S. Women’s National Team, which hasn’t won a medal since 2014. In 2016 and 2018 we had a World Cup where we didn’t win a medal. I became manager in 2019 and we revamped the program a bit.”

The overall state of girls’s baseball is difficult to find out. Most persons are still in some form or simply cannot grasp that it is not softball. The path that girls’s baseball has traveled is one which must be avoided and infrequently despised.

“It’s legit baseball, these are some of the best athletes I’ve ever been able to coach and ever see. It’s just phenomenal to watch. “I think if people saw this product, if people saw women playing at this level, they would understand and buy,” Alvarez explained. “This isn’t softball.”

A women’s baseball documentary airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on MLB Network. Coach Veronica, as Naomi calls her, is definitely in the movie.

“It showed our women’s national team and other national teams. But someone just wrote about it and someone in the comments said, “Women’s softball is the best.” And it’s like, ‘Oh my God,'” Alvarez said with a laugh. “It’s amazing for women that people can see the word baseball, see baseball, see women throwing overhand, and still associate it with the game of softball. And I have nothing against the game, we can just both exist. We both can coexist. Both are great sports, but this particular group of women, Naomi Ryan, wants to play baseball. I don’t want to play softball because they are two different sports. And it’s okay.”

One reason she doesn’t wish to play softball is obvious: she’s a rattling good baseball player. Do you recognize who told her that? Her highschool head coach. Yes, she plays with boys, like many others in her position. But at the Miller School in Albermarle, Virginia, the person running the program is not only any person. This is Billy Wagner.

Yes, this one. Billy the Kid. The one who, body-wise, looks like just one other guy walking down the street, but lasted 16 seasons in the major league as a pitcher. He is a seven-time All-Star, is one in every of only eight big league players to record 400 profession saves, and is on a LONG list of individuals related to Cooperstown (he is in the Houston Astros Hall of Fame). Yes, he’s a somewhat random name in the pantheon of people that have graced the league with their presence, but he’s the style of one who has seen the pinnacle and is used to overcoming greater obstacles.

As the story goes, after a comparatively tumultuous upbringing and breaking his right arm twice while playing football, he simply… began throwing left. And that led him to leading roles. So if anyone understands foresight, Wagner does.

“When I took over as a highschool coach, I coached against her brother. Anyway, he was going to Pitt and he was killing us all the time. He was so amazing. So I knew about the family. I didn’t learn about her,” Wagner noted. “I got a call asking if I would meet with her about coming to Miller. So she comes in and it’s really quiet. She’s sitting at the table and you’ve got our athletic director, me, her parents, and I’m just sitting there listening to the talk. And then I look at her and ask: what do you want from this? What is this end game for you? Because I don’t know what she’s looking for. She says, “I want to be the first female major league baseball player. I said, “Someone once told me it was possible, and I’m not going to be the person to say it is not.”

“When you concentrate on girls having fun, it is not typical. It throws 79 to 81 (mph), giving it 82 tops. Then he’s good with the curve ball. She knows keep a runner going.

Being the girl on the highschool baseball team is one thing. Honestly, it is not that rare anymore and it’s great. But being a member of the national team is different and impressive.

For Naomi, leadership has quite a bit to do with it.

“It’s easiest to train her in a team. Because I don’t have to worry about him worrying about home runs or getting out of Velo. She really competes in throwing strikes, pitches, getting on base and laying down a bunt – to do everything she can to win,” Wagner beamed on Friday. “It reflects quite a bit on our team because our team knows how I feel about doing the little things, and she or he is an actual example of what it’s wish to be that style of player.

“It wasn’t an enormous deal for our team because I feel quite a lot of our guys had heard of Naomi. And so it only took some time for them to go, “Oh, well, she could act.” And they selected her as the captain of our team. I mean, she’s the only returning captain now we have, and I’ve never had a captain, let alone a lady, captain in my sophomore yr.

As for meeting Kershaw, her favorite player, this time Naomi’s mom tried to sneak a curveball past her.

“We walked into the stadium and I thought, ‘Am I dating Clayton?’ And she said, “No, you recognize I might have told you.” We had many surprises; I would tell you. And I could tell she was lying because she was smiling so much,” Naomi Ryan said, recalling a few hours earlier that day. “We’re walking and then I see him behind the batting cage and I’m like… my friends wanted me to blog, so I’m taking a video of him. I thought, “Guys, I feel I’m going to fulfill Clayton Kershaw soon.” I soon met him, and thru my coach and his contacts, I used to be in a position to meet Clayton.

Wagner did the league a favor by making his player’s already incredible journey much more memorable.

“When I first met him, I told him my dream. I told him I desired to play in the MLB and he said he would give me the hat and a probability,” Naomi Ryan said of Wagner. “I think he kind of found a connection with me because he was also the underdog in some situations. It was something like, “I’ll help and discover a way for her to realize her goal.” I mean, he did it.

“No matter what, even once I was playing basketball, I used to be still calm, but I feel he (Wagner) really helped me gain more confidence on and off the court. I also get messages from parents on Instagram telling me how inspiring I’m to their daughter. This is a full circle moment for me since it wasn’t that way back that I used to be of their shoes.

As for the game, mom and daughter are Yankees fans, and pop and brother, who weren’t on the trip, are Mets fans. It was still iconic although their favorite team lost.

After Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman hit a ball deep to right field that sent Chavez Ravine right into a frenzy and took the lead in the series, she spoke plainly. “It was the best baseball game I’ve ever seen.”

Considering what the entire day had to supply, it is easy to see why.