When the Sacramento Kings selected 19-year-old Marvin Bagley with the second-overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, they didn’t really know that they were getting a multi-talented prospect. Naturally, Bagley was selected for his skills on the basketball court. But his Kings teammates would soon find out that Bagley is striving to succeed in another career path as well by becoming a rapper.

This isn’t anything new in the NBA. For years now there have been NBA players that have had some side success with their music while still balling in the league. The only difference is that Bagley wants to be as big as Shaquille O’Neal. And no, I don’t mean in height.

As everybody pokes fun at Shaq’s career as a rapper, it’s always crazy to recall just how popular he was outside of the basketball court. When Shaq Diesel hit the shelves in 1993, O’Neal had some significant major-label success as he is a certified platinum-selling artist. Although his following three albums didn’t quite live up to the hype, it was still very different for an NBA player who was using rap as a side project have that much success in the industry.

Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard is another popular player that gave rapping a go recently. Although Lillard garnered a ton of buzz for a few freestyles, his album sales weren’t necessarily a commercial success. For Bagley, it’s different. He wants to be more than an NBA player who had a hot freestyle on Shade 45 with Sway. Bagley intends to do Shaq Diesel numbers, and he just might be the guy that can bring O’Neal out of music retirement as well.

The Return of Shaq Diesel?

Shaq has been wildly successful outside of basketball over the years. You can pretty much find him anywhere on your television, but you’ll never hear new rap music by Shaq through your speakers. That ship sailed a long time ago, but Kings rookie, Marvin Bagley may be the guy who will bring back Shaq Diesel.

The Undefeated’s Marc Spears recently discussed Bagley’s rap career with the rookie. That’s when Bagley highlighted Shaq as being a significant influence on his career as a basketball-rapping hybrid. And although Shaq hasn’t made any music in a while, he has discussed the possibility of doing a remix with Bagley, who goes by ‘MB3FIVE.’

“I mentioned to Shaq getting on a remix of the song he made [with The Notorious B.I.G.], ‘You Can’t Stop the Rain,’ ” Bagley said. “I was listening to it and I texted him. I was like, ‘We should get on a remix.’ He said it would be cool. Obviously, we haven’t had time to do that. But it would be cool to do and we still might have an opportunity.”

Could it happen soon? Absolutely. After all, Shaq is a minority owner with Bagley’s team. While it probably won’t happen anytime during the season as Bagley has to remain focused during his rookie year, it could be an offseason project. And just in case you want to get familiar with MB3FIVE, you can check out his Soundcloud account here. So far, Bagley has released ten songs on his account. He is currently working on his debut album, which he plans on releasing some time in the fall.