NBA stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving served as the inspiration for popular rapper Eminem's latest bonus track this week, titled Kyrie & Luka. Released in collaboration with fellow rapper 2 Chainz, the bonus track was included on the Grammy Award-winning artist's latest album The Death of Slim Shady.
The album was released on Friday, Jul. 12, with 19 songs appearing on the album. In addition, fans who preordered were also treated to a bonus track titled Kyrie & Luka featuring 2 Chainz. While the song hasn't been added to streaming services yet, it is available to listen on YouTube.
In addition, Eminem fans on Reddit were quick to download the song, and re-upload it to Dropbox so that fans around the world can listen. Despite the name of the song being Kyrie & Luka, Eminem doesn't actually name drop either NBA star in the song.
In fact, the only reference to either player throughout the entirety of the song came from 2 Chainz, who at one point says:
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“Feel like Kyrie.”
It's unclear why Eminem named the track after the two Dallas Mavericks stars, however, the general consensus among fans seems to be that the title indicates that Eminem and 2 Chainz are the Kyrie and Luka of the rap game.
Despite not being mentioned in the title, New York Knicks star Julius Randle was name-dropped in the song by 2 Chainz at one point:
“While things are goin’ left like Julius Randle.”
Looking at Luka Doncic & Kyrie Irving's offseason so far amid Eminem & 2 Chainz shoutout
The Kyrie & Luka song released by Eminem and 2 Chainz comes on the heels of Luka Doncic and Team Slovenia being eliminated from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
While the Mavericks star was dealing with a slew of injuries throughout the NBA Finals, Luka Doncic has since recovered and returned to the floor, suiting up for Slovenia in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Despite the additional firepower Luka Doncic brought to the team, Team Slovenia fell to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Team Greece in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, ending their bid for a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At the same time, Kyrie Irving was notably left off the Team USA roster after the NBA Finals. While it's no secret that the limited roster space made things tough for the USA Basketball program, many named Irving as a player who should have been a finalist to replace Kawhi Leonard after his withdrawal.
While Derrick White was ultimately tapped to fill in for Leonard, Kevin Durant has been dealing with a calf strain of his own that has kept him out of full practices for Team USA. Given that, the former MVP could wind up being forced out of the Olympics just like Kawhi Leonard.
In the event that he does withdraw from the Olympics, it will be interesting to see if Kyrie Irving is tapped to fill-in on short notice.
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