Photo. Jonathan Mannion

The following appears in Dime #36, on newsstands now…

On the same night in late-July when 2K Sports gave us a very-early sneak peek of NBA 2K8, they brought NBA ballers Andre Iguodala, Gerald Wallace, Rudy Gay and 2K8 cover guy Chris Paul to Rucker Park for the first-ever outdoor, nighttime motion-capture session. In between the guys donning the mo-cap suits and having their moves recorded for the game, we got with each of them to talk about their personal anthems and the soundtracks to their teammates’ lives …

Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
My Personal Anthem: “Lil’ Wayne – I can’t think of just one song. Wayne’s my boy, so he sends me music all the time, lots of stuff that isn’t even released. So I’m always listening to different songs of his.”
My Team:
Tyson Chandler: “I’d go with a crazy rapper, like The Game. Plus Tyson’s from Compton.”

David West: “He’s real cool and chill, so for him I’d have to say Bob Marley.”

Peja Stojakovic: “T.I.”

Julian Wright: “Chamillionaire. They say he’s a versatile rapper and Julian is a versatile guy on the court.”

Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies
My Personal Anthem: “‘Hovi Baby’ by Jay-Z. I listen to a lot of Jay-Z and Lil’ Wayne. Right now I’ve been playing The Black Album, Kingdome Come and The Drought 3.”

My Team:
Pau Gasol: “Pitbull, because they’re both Spanish.”

Mike Miller: “Anything by Eminem.”

Mike Conley: “Souljah Boy.”

Kyle Lowry: “‘Hovi Baby.’ Me and Kyle are a lot alike.”

Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia 76ers
My Personal Anthem: “I like Wayne, but I’ve been listening to more R&B lately. I’m a little tired of rap right now. I’ve been listening to a lot of Amy Winehouse, Ne-Yo, and John Legend. I like ‘Rehab’ by Amy Winehouse, and for Ne-Yo, I like his whole album. I can listen to Once Again straight through.”

My Team:
Andre Miller: “Andre 3000. He’s different but effective at what he does.”

Kyle Korver: “He’s a great shooter, so he’d have to be a producer like Scott Storch. He makes hits all day.”
Sam Dalembert: “Wyclef. They’re both Hatian. Sam’s crazy. I can’t understand anything he says.”

Louis Williams: “Lil’ Wayne. He raps Wayne’s lyrics all day. He uses his lyrics as his away messages on instant messenger.”

Gerald Wallace, Charlotte Bobcats
My Personal Anthem: “The music I listen to depends on my mood. Sometimes that’s jazz or R&B or hip-hop, or whatever. Music is music to me. What I listen to after a good game will be different from what I listen to after a bad game.”

My Team:
Ray Felton: “‘Big Thangs Poppin’ by T.I.”

Emeka Okafor: “Some jazz. He’s a mellow dude.”

Adam Morrison: “Something that’s country or hard rock.”

Michael Jordan: “Anything with the word ‘great’ in the title.”