Professional wrestling and professional basketball have a history dating back decades. But despite the mutual respect between athletes of the NBA and the WWE, only a handful of players have ever stepped inside the squared circle for a legit match, mainly Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone.

Well it’s about time to add another name to that list: Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter. A longtime pro wrestling fan (and former 24/7 Champion), Kanter recently sat down for an interview with Stadium in which he was asked about his post-NBA plans. Kanter didn’t hesitate at all, not only saying he wanted to become a WWE Superstar, but that the company has already made him an offer to get in the ring:

“Oh, I’m definitely becoming a WWE wrestler, for sure. I actually already have offers from WWE, but I’m like, ‘Dude, I gotta finish my basketball career first.’ But after my [basketball] career, I’m definitely becoming one.”

The 6’11” Kanter, who turns 28 next week, already has nine seasons in the NBA under his belt. He is under contract with the Celtics through the end of the 2020-2021 season. Could we see Kanter vs. Gronk for the 24/7 championship at a WWE pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia in 2022? I mean, literally anything is possible at this point, But at least we know the guy’s got moves:

Ariana Grande spent some time with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe on Beats 1 today, as she joined the host to play some songs and talk about a number of things. She revealed she made a song with Doja Cat, and she also took some time to discuss Mac Miller.

Grande told Lowe about how devoted to music Miller was, saying that “nothing was more important” to him than his craft:

“I think that nothing mattered more to him than music, ever. And he was the kind of person who woke up and rolled into the studio, tumbled out of bed, into the studio next door. Nothing was more important. Talk about losing track of time and forgetting to eat, remind yourself to take care of yourself and be a person. He was a person who gave literally every single second of his thought and time and life to his music. And I think that’s so evident in what he’s left us with, and just how many incredible and different bodies of work, everything from Blue Slide Park, KIDS, to all the way through Divine Feminine, to Swimming, to Circles, to everything in between.

It’s just such a beautiful gift I think that he kind of touched the world with, and I think the thing he’d want most is for us to just appreciate it and not forget about it.”

Find more excerpts from Grande’s conversation with Lowe here.

For the first time since 1983, the official NBA game ball will no longer be produced by Spalding as Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports the league and Spalding have mutually agreed to part ways after next season when their contract runs up and Wilson will take over production.

Wilson was the NBA’s first ball manufacturer, but since 1983 Spalding has held that role. Wilson, which is the official game ball sponsor of the NCAA Tournament, will now produce game balls for most high school, college, and professional basketball leagues.

The NBA’s contract with Spalding is expiring and now Wilson will be the new partner to produce the league’s official game ball starting with the 2021-22 season, sources with knowledge of the deal informed Yahoo Sports.

Wilson will also serve as the official game ball of the WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League (BAL), sources with knowledge told Yahoo Sports.

It’ll be strange for a lot of fans to see NBA basketball being played with something other than Spalding, but Wilson will be working with the NBA and NBPA on a new game ball. Initially, they will use the same leather and specifications for the first edition, but will take advisement from players on potential tweaks they’d like to see. The WNBA will continue to use a composite ball, per Haynes.

UK rapper Slowthai has already had a busy year. From recording music with Gorillaz to having a very public meltdown on live television during the NME Awards, the rapper has been making headlines. Now, Slowthai shares a look into a new era of music with the Kenny Beats-produced track “Magic.”

“Magic” arrives as a surprise release from the rapper. The song follows shortly behind “Enemy” which was released just a few days ago and marked his first solo single of 2020. While “Magic” leaked prior to its debut, Slowthai returned with a slightly tweaked version for the official release.

With blown-out, adrenaline-pumping instrumentals provided by Kenny Beats, Slowthai continues his off the wall style lyrical style. “I sip Brandy, not too handy / With the tool, but it’s coolio / Been a lost boy like Rufio / And now we got dough, employ that ho,” Slowthai raps, referencing a character in the 1991 Robin Williams film Hook.

While “Magic” marks the first song Kenny Beats has teamed up on with Slowthai, the producer has worked with rappers from across the board. His collaborations list includes Tyler The Creator, Mura Masa, Jpegmafia, Rico Nasty, and Denzel Curry.

Listen to “Magic” above.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Our Socially Distanced Summer is fast approaching and our favorite labels are finally stepping up and delivering their best drops of the year. This week will see the rerelease of Adidas classic UltraBOOST silhouette in its original Triple White colorway which will no doubt put YEEZY heads in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between acquiring the sneaker that put the UltraBOOST on the map (thanks, in part, to Kanye famously rocking a pair) or picking up the latest YEEZY design, the 500 High Tyrian. Go with the UltraBOOSTS, we say.

On the apparel end, Supreme is launching one of their best music-themed capsules in some time, in large part thanks to the inclusion of Daniel Johnston’s iconic psychedelic art. Champion Japan is also dropping a fire archival collection of vintage pieces for die-hard Champion fans, and Palace is releasing the first pieces from their summer collection.

Here are all the best sneaker and apparel release out this week, let’s dive in!

Comme des Garçons Nike Dunk Low Pack

First appearing back in September during Paris Fashion Week — in a pre-COVID-19 world, wild! — the Comme des Garçons Nike Dunk Lows are finally here. The collaborative pack consists of two Dunk Lows both utilizing a translucent Nexkin woven upper over a logo-printed or non-logo printed base. Of the two, we’re digging on the non-logo version a bit more, though your decision may depend on how badly you want your socks in play for your whole ensemble.

The Comme des Garçons Nike Dunk Low back is set to drop on May 14th for a yet to be announced retail price. Pick up a pair exclusively through the Dover Street Market.

Adidas YEEZY 500 High Tyrian

There are two types of YEEZY fans out there — either you’re a Kanye West stan and you gotta throw your support behind Ye at all costs, or you like YEEZYs because of the insanity that the designs bring to the sneaker game. When Kanye West isn’t churning out a seemingly endless supply of earthy colorways of the YEEZY 350 V2, he’s making sneakers that look less like kicks and more like alien feet. The 500 High Tyrian fit that description to a T.

With a mixed leather and suede upper, the 500 High Tyrian utilizes blue neoprene, black leather, and brown suede tones for a rich boot that slots nicely in your summer wardrobe. If we ever have a summer.

The Adidas YEEZY 500 High Tyrian are set to drop on May 16th for a retail price of $220. Pick up a pair through YEEZY Supply.

Adidas UltraBOOST 1.0 Triple White

If you feel like Adidas’ UltraBOOST has continually missed the mark when it comes to improving upon the initial design, you’ll be pleased to know the OG UltraBOOST is dropping in the original Triple White colorway that made it a must-own sneaker in 2015. Everything about the early iteration of the UltraBOOST has returned — the lightweight minimally adorned Primeknit upper, the semi-spiked outsole, the locked-in feel, the ultra response BOOST midsole — it’s a great addition to any sneakerhead’s ensemble.

We might side with the crowd that says Adidas has never made a worthy successor to the original, or maybe we’re just feeling nostalgic for a bygone decade.

The Adidas UltraBOOST 1.0 Triple White is set to drop on May 17th for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair through the Adidas webstore.

Jordan Delta Vachetta Tan

Get off the court with these lifestyle Jordan Deltas from Jordan Brand. Dressed in a season-appropriate Vachetta Tan, this pair of non-performance-based Jordans features contrasting mint blue laces and tongue with crisp scarlet accents atop a comfy React foam midsole. It isn’t what comes to mind when you think of a pair of Jordans, but is that a bad thing?

The Jordan Delta Vachetta Tan sneakers are set to drop on May 14th for a retail price of $150. Pick up a pair through the Nike SNKRS app.

Reebok Instapump Fury City Pack

Lovers of the hideous Reebok Instapump Fury will be treated to the best drop the silhouette has ever seen since the height of its popularity three years ago. The City Pack consists of four sneakers that pay homage to the cities of Osaka, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Seoul. Considering you won’t be able to travel for the foreseeable future, this might be the closest you’re going to get to those cities for at the least the next year. Why travel, when you can wear a destination on your feet? The same feet that you use for walking around in your home and literally nowhere else. What? Lockdown isn’t making me crazy, it’s making you crazy!

The Reebok Instapump Fury City Pack is set to drop on May 15th with each pair retailing for $169. Choose your city at Atmos.

Palace Summer 2020 Collection

Finally clean out of their Spring 2020 looks, Palace has dropped a collection that is geared exclusively for the summer, though the collection does, in fact, include jackets. Give them a break, they’re UK based!

The full collection consists of short and long sleeve t-shirts, knits, sweatshirts, tracksuits, bottoms, hats, skate decks, and accessories. The shirts primarily feature graphics that utilize Palace’s Tri-Ferg logo, while the button-down shirts take on a more subdued quality with simple summer color basics — with the crazy sunglasses sunshine shirt being a notable exception. The full collection is pretty extensive and features over 150 individual pieces, so head to Palace’s site to get a full look.

The Palace Summer 2020 collection is set to drop on May 15th. Shop the looks at the Palace webstore.

Champion Japan Homage To The Archives

Japan stays the home of the best drops, thanks in part to this exclusive Homage to the Archives collection out of Champion Japan that sees some timeless pieces from the brand’s 100-year history finally getting some much-needed updates and rereleases. Highlights of the collection include the reverse weave cotton patchwork short-sleeve sweatshirt, a relaxed fit ox jacket, and the all-over vintage printed Champion button up.

The Homage To the Archives collection is available now, to shop the full set, head over to the Champion Japan webstore, just prepare to not see your order for weeks due to shipping.

Supreme Daniel Johnston Collection

In tribute to the singular Texas musician Daniel Johnston, Supreme is dropping a special capsule collection as part of their Spring/Summer 2020 line that features some of Johnston’s more instantly recognizable work, most notably Jeremiah the Innocent and imagery from Space Ducks. The full collection consists of long-sleeve plaid shirts, jackets, work pants, t-shirts, hoodies, and beanies, and is actually pretty extensive — offering a variety of different color options.

As far as music crossovers go, this is one of Supreme’s best.

The Supreme Daniel Johnston Collection is set to drop on May 14th exclusively through the Supreme online store.

If you ever stopped to count the number of times the average American uses the word “like” in a given sentence, it’s pretty eye-opening. A recent story in Business Insider found the term has four major functions in American English.

It’s a filler word used mainly for pause and flow.” It’s an adverb that can be used as “a hedge, that’s used for approximation.” And it’s used as “a discourse particle, to emphasize a point.”

The use of the term is also a signal to to others that you are being informal and friendly. A big reason why it’s overused by younger people.

So how did it become so popular? You never hear people dropping a ton of “likes” into their speech in movies from the ’40s. The term gained popularity within beatnik culture of the ’50s and then diffused into culture at-large. The term was lampooned in the 1982 novelty hit “Valley Girl” by Frank Zappa.

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This led to a popularization of the Valley Girl stereotype in movies and TV.

Now, you like hear the world “like” everywhere in the country.

Why Americans Say “Like” In The Middle Of Sentences

www.youtube.com

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Snoop Dogg recently announced his own brand of red wine. Now, Post Malone is the latest rapper to stake his claim in the wine industry. The rapper aims to create an accessible wine with Maison No. 9, a French rosé designed by Posty and his partners.

For Maison No. 9, Posty teamed up with entrepreneur James Morrissey and music manager Dre London to create the distinct flavor and design of rosé. The three traveled to Provence, France to handpick the best grapes and sampled over 50 blends to find the perfect balance.

The name of the wine was inspired by Posty’s favorite tarot card, the Nine Of Swords. The card represents a positive overcoming of daily challenges. With the inspiration in mind, the rapper designed the bottle to be sleek and easily held with a full glass in the other hand.

In a statement, Posty says he’s been thinking about the project for quite some time: “Rosé is for when you want to get a little fancy. It’s a nice switch up and I have been thinking about doing my own wine for a while. It was great to work with Global Brand Equities because they saw the vision and we got to do some super cool stuff. Maison No. 9 goes down smooth, and you’re all going to love it!”

Posty’s partner Dre London echoed the rapper’s excitement about the new rosé: “We have opportunities to create a lot of new projects with Post, and we are highly selective about what we invest our time and energy into. It has to be something we are really passionate about. With Maison No. 9, we knew immediately that it was the right fit. Between the people, the project and the product, the vision was there to create something authentic on the French Riviera that Post truly loves.”

Post Malone’s Maison No. 9 rosé is available worldwide in June. Get it here.

AMC has acquired the rights to both The Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches, both by Anne Rice and both about, well, vampires and witches. Between the two series, that’s 18 novels the network can now develop into TV projects under the supervision of Friday Night Lights veteran Rolin Jones, with Rice and her son Christopher serving as executive producers.

“It’s always been my dream to see the worlds of my two biggest series united under a single roof so that filmmakers could explore the expansive and interconnected universe of my vampires and witches,” Rice said in a statement. “That dream is now a reality, and the result is one of the most significant and thrilling deals of my long career.”

Going all the way back to 2016, Rice has been actively trying to turn her creative world into a television series on par with Game of Thrones after finally securing the rights to The Vampire Chronicles from Universal. However, Rice fans might want to temper their expectations about this latest development, at least for now. The journey to AMC hasn’t exactly been the smoothest.

According to Variety, Paramount Television was the first to jump on The Vampire Chronicles property, and it even had Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller attached. That project stalled when Fuller exited shortly after his involvement was announced. The rights reverted back to Rice, who then sold them to Hulu in a “competitive bidding situation.” Unfortunately, updates on The Vampire Chronicles‘ new home on the streaming service grew quiet. Following a cryptic Facebook post from Rice in early December, trades began reporting that the Hulu deal was dead, and the author was once again shopping the property, which has now landed at AMC.

“Like Lestat, this project will live forever,” Rice wrote in December. “We know you thirst, and we, Lestat and all the others who share the dark gift shall satisfy that thirst very soon.”

(Via THR, Variety)

Previously on NWA Powerrr: Way back in the halcyon days of early March we saw The Question Mark and Shooter Stevens call out the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Royce Isaacs try to break Sal Rinauro’s arm because of VLOG JEALOUSIES, and ventriloquist dummies from mysterious foreign lands.

If you’d like to keep up with these columns, you can do so on the NWA Powerrr tag page. Remember, NWA Powerrr and all its extra Rs is free to watch on YouTube, so check out episode nineteen if you haven’t already:

World Health Corganization

Welcome back to NWA Super Powerrr, the ersatz Clash of the Champions concept that was supposed to serve as the go-home show for the now-postponed Crockett Cup tournament. The special is book-ended by messages from NWA impresario William Patrick Corgan, who takes a break from being artisanal Kenny Rogers to let us know that while they’re frustrated they can’t do normal episodes and pay-per-views as planned due to the Circumstances ( WWE), the National Wrestling Alliance isn’t folding and will pivot to a new show, Carnyland, until our general outbreak nightmare is over. No word yet on what that show will be, but I assume it revolves around former Oakland Athletics third baseman Carney Lansford. [checks notes] Sorry, Kizarny Lansford.

Jokes aside, it does my heart good to know that the NWA’s keeping the shit afloat during the global pandemic and will get back to the GPB Studios as soon as possible, assuming Atlanta doesn’t go full The Walking Dead between now and the end of summer. Be safe down there, everybody. Be safe anywhere!

Madi Maxx Goes Beyond Thunderdome

Meet Madi Maxx, who more or less has a Haley from Modern Family gimmick despite being named “Mad Max.” Shouldn’t she be covered in dirt and trying to win matches for gasoline, or something? At least when Mad Maxine was around she had a green mohawk and had post-apocalyptic punk vibes. Why are you Santana Garrett? Do you know how much pro wrestling could use an Imperator Furiosa character? Come on. Like, imagine Aliyah from NXT, except her name is INDIANA JO-ANNS. Maybe she’s a raider of the lost character arc. Who knows?

Anyway, she’s here to get completely eaten for breakfast by the debuting (in the ring) Kamille. The NWA previously released this match and the promo that goes with it on YouTube, and I’d recommend giving it a watch. They do a great job of making Kamille out to be a sort of realistic, modern day Mr. Perfect, where she’s spent her entire life being wildly dominant at everything she’s ever tried, which has caused these conflicting feelings of “fuck you” confidence and the complex, emotional fragility that comes with constantly having your accomplishments marginalized and denied. It could easily be sympathetic, but isn’t, because she’s so jaded and spiteful about it. Love it.

Also, it doesn’t hurt that she’s out here bodying folks with big-ass leg lariats and monster spears with a goddamn forearm in your face on the cover.

Pretty sure Kamille could take anyone else wrestling on this episode, or at least come close.

Villain Enterprises Goes Under

Super Powerrr’s main event is the Powerrr debut of Villain Enterprises — specifically Brody King, who rules, and Marty Scurll, whose name gets mispronounced by Dave Marquez despite him arguably being the most known star on the show — in, get this, a loss to Strictly Business. This is Strictly Business’ house. It ain’t loosely business.

This is the kind of match Powerrr can do really well. It utilizes a lot of southern tag team wrestling tropes, which are still mint, but it keeps up a good pace and doesn’t outstay its welcome at just under 10 minutes. While it’s not the “best” match I’ve seen on TV recently, it’s closer to my platonic ideal of modern pro wrestling than anything. It’s four guys who know what works, doing what works. It makes sense without being dense or necessitating a full knowledge of the characters and histories to tell a story. It’s the KISS principle. Keep it simple, stupid.

Sure enough, the “villains” are outsmarted by the basic villainy of punching your opponent in the dick behind the referee’s back, allowing SB to score the underhanded victory and further the Scurll/Nick Aldis beef without one of them randomly pinning the other five times a month. The National Wrestling Alliance continues to be an SB Nation. It’s a shame they had to postpone the Crockett Cup to give us a payoff, because I was going to have cageside seats.

In The Least Important Strictly Business News Possible

May Valentine is extremely distraught about the fact that her vlogs have lost 100 followers due to her jealous, abusive boyfriend trying to maim one of her friends on television. YouTube, whatever. Serious question: are May Valentine’s vlogs available somewhere else? Can she have “subscribers” for a show that only happens in the middle of someone else’s YouTube show? Shit, now I want to see Paul Bearer start feuding with Brutus Beefcake about The Barber Shop doing better than The Funeral Parlor in the 18–34 demographic.

I’m not sure what’s funnier, the fact that “a vlogger might lose followers because her jobber boyfriend is being a dick to a different jobber” might be the lowest stakes wrestling story ever told, or May’s incredible dialogue:

“You don’t know my heart, okay? You know nothing about me. Do not accuse me of that again. I’m pure, okay!”

The Question Mark Cinematic Universe Expands

Literally!

Meet QUESTION MARK JR., Shooter Stevens’ “insurance policy” to protect his team from Trevor Murdoch during their match against the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. My favorite part of the entire endeavor is Stevens trying to dump on Murdoch for showing up at ringside after saying he’s injured with, “I guess you FLUNKED HONESTY!”

Stu Bennett also gives us an early contender for call of the year during QMJ’s introduction:

Stevens: “From the Mongrovian Forest, weighing in at 450 mongroves”
Bennett: [long pause] “How many kilograms are in a mongrove?”

The Question Mark doesn’t seem to know anything about the existence of a “Question Mark Jr.,” so unless that creepy ventriloquist puppet from the previous episode got turned into a real boy by the Blue Mongrovian Fairy, it’s safe to say even in kayfabe that it’s clearly fatter Bouncer Brian Milonas under the hood. Trust me, it’s not important. In addition to the match containing the recommended dosage of Shooter Stevens shenanigans, Murdoch ends up chasing Question Mark Jr. around the ring until the poor guy has to collapse:

Stevens gets distracted by the general helplessness of his massive insurance policy and gets rolled up for the loss, because of course he does. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express have pinned the Third-Degree National Heavyweight Champion!

(Mama) Storm’s End

There’s also some catharsis for the viewers (crazy concept, I know) when Tim Storm defeats immediate threat “Vanilla Godzilla” Jax Dane by using the time honored Braun Strowman opponent strategy of moving the fuck out of the way when a big guy is running at you. Based on the pro wrestling physics that cause you to run into the ropes, bounce off of them, and run back at your opponent on an Irish whip, a large man who has built up a head of steam can’t stop under any circumstances and must run into something before he can stop. If you dodged a charge from Braun Strowman and there was nothing for him to run into, he’d just keep jogging in one direction until he hit ocean.

The match is pretty good in the same way every local Texas indie show main event like this is pretty good, and I say that lovingly. There’s still a place in wrestling for big guys who do headlocks and shoulder-tackles and NEED YOUR SUPPORT, FANS, to beat slightly bigger guys. Afterward, per the pre-match stipulation, Storm gets five minutes with Danny Deals, the local improv comedy jerk who has been playing “Momma Storm” on Powerrr with an increasingly unclear motivation. Deals tries to dress up like Momma to avoid the inevitable manslaughter, which causes a super funny, “he’s not Momma,” chant. Storm, who is lovable and gullible but not stupid, calmly removes “Momma’s” Golden Girls wig and Boss Man Slams him twice.

Happy Mother’s Day, everybody.

Also On This Episode

Tasha Steelz, who signed with Impact Wrestling the morning after this aired and will presumably never be back, wins a triple threat match against Ashley Vox and the modern day Dean Malenko, Marti Belle. Marti gets through most of the match without an issue, but is too scared of Steelz’ knees to bend all the way over for a Codebreaker and sells them even though they came a solid two and a half feet from making contact. It’s all good. Good luck on Impact, Tasha!

Melina and Allysin Kay try to barter their way into a title match against World Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa — Melina wants it because she’s a “living legend,” Kay wants it because of interference in her rematch — and end up in a triple threat for Crockett Cup, whenever that happens. Fingers crossed that the match suddenly changes when Kay and Melina are mysteriously softball-batted 300 feet to right-center by someone who had to have been padding their stats.

Finally, Eddie Kingston, Eli Drake, and James Storm give an absolute masterclass in how to sound like a human being when you’re talking into a microphone, no matter what your character is. These characters are DRASTICALLY different. Kingston’s this casually intense dude with a Yonkers accent who speaks to the crowd like they’re his equals, which allows him to hit them with relatable emotional beats. Storm is a confident, masculine redneck who SCREAMS EVERYTHING HE SAYS because he’s PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS BUSINESS and LOVES TO FIGHT. Eli Drake’s doing the sing-songy Attitude Era promos everyone loved from guys like The Rock, Konnan, and the Road Dogg. They couldn’t be more different, but they fit together because they always, for better or worse, sound like they’re being themselves. That’s money.

Next Week