“They got a lot of guys that are coming. Dame Lillard’s really nice. Iman Shumpert can go. Antonio Brown can go. All these guys can go. It’s all about competition.” Last year, during his interview with TMZ, Shaquille O’Neal gave flowers to fellow athletes who have entered the rap game. But made one thing very clear: “I know who the number one is. I’m always say myself is number one.” So, probably to test that theory, he invited one of his favorites to the show.

“Iman Shumpert joins the Big Podcast! New episode Monday!” The Big Podcast with Shaq’s Instagram page uploaded a story. And it’s not the first time any rapper has appeared on the show—from 2 Chainz to DaBaby to T.I. and even Ice Cube among others. It’s already in season 2 with 36 episodes already uploaded. And has gained 68,362,090 plus views in that time. Speaking about views earlier this year, Shaquille O’Neal uploaded a story appreciating his latest guest.

An Instagram page, uploaded a reel of former champion freestyling with the caption “Iman Shumpert is rapping like the rent is due.” The Lakers legend added the post to his story, however did not add any words, seemingly agreeing to what was written as a caption. After all, last year, he agreed about Shumpert’s skills in TMZ.

Even the 10-year veteran wants everyone to understand about his skills. “I do not just “spit.” To me, rapping is an art. I express myself through song when I can’t let people in on my thoughts otherwise. I need the creative process.” He spoke to Bleacher Report in 2015. “I’ve been rapping my whole career. I have hundreds and hundreds of songs, but no one would know unless I release them.”

Now, Iman knows people in the industry, so he can make moves. But not everyone has that advantage, so Shaquille O’Neal has provided a platform for other rap artists.

Shaquille O’Neal invites rapper friends to crown a winner

The 4x NBA Champion and Kayo are judging independent artists in a 64-artist music tournament. Yes, it is an NCAA-style bracket where artists go head-to-head, song versus song, in a single elimination. They have invited various artists like Trae Da Truth, Yung Joc, and Jazze Pha among others.

Whozfire, gives an opportunity for the artists to win $30,000 as the ultimate prize. Plus a song featured on the hit game series’ next edition NBA 2k26. Not only that, Shaquille O’Neal agreed to sponsor a fully paid trip to record two tracks with legendary producer Jazze Pha. Previous guest judge, Trae Da Truth also agreed to do a feature for free for the winner of the tournament. The tournament now heads into the Elite 8 phase.

So, with deep ties to rapping culture, Shaquille O’Neal found a way to give back to independent artists. Despite being a hooper, he and Shumpert also previously began their journey and showed the world about being multi-talented artists. Let’s see what kind of journey he shares in the upcoming edition of the Big Podcast.