By Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter Published Jan 24, 2018 at 5:05 PM

For his breakout season last year, Giannis Antetokounmpo was named to the All-NBA and All-Defensive Second Teams, and he won the Most Improved Player award after becoming the first guy in league history to finish a regular season ranked in the top 20 in total points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.

This year, Antetokounmpo has emerged as one of the best, most popular players in the NBA. He’s currently the league’s second-leading scorer, and in February, he was voted in by fans, media and basketball peers to start his second straight All-Star Game.

But to some – including perhaps Giannis himself – he only really, truly, finally and fully arrived on the scene Tuesday night, when he was mentioned in a new song on Lil Wayne’s upcoming "Dedicated 6 Reloaded" mixtape. On the track, "Big Bad Wolf," Lil Wayne raps, "I got a Greek freak, she call me Antetokounmpo," and he even nails the pronunciation (give it a listen and take note, "NBA on TNT" guys).

It’s safe to say when you’re name-dropped by Lil Wayne, you’ve made it. And Giannis sure seemed to appreciate the props:

In getting a Weezy shout-out, Antetokounmpo joins some pretty impressive NBA company, including the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. It’s not the first time Lil Wayne has referenced Wisconsin sports; on "Green & Yellow," he expressed his avid Packers fandom, rapping, "Money green, yellow broad/Aaron Rodgers: MVP award."

Thank you, Giannis, for getting Milwaukee into a Lil Wayne rhyme. And, for his part, figuring out a way to work "Antetokounmpo" into a verse is just more evidence that Wayne’s the best. One is not a human being; the other’s a freak who plays like he’s from another planet. Game recognize game.

Listen to the new song below:

Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter

Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.

After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.

Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.