The Cavs have kicked the Wizards (my hometown team) out of the playoffs the last couple years and before the series even started the Wizards were talking. Arenas said: "We want Cleveland for our own reasons, we don't think they can beat us in the playoffs three years straight. It's hard to beat a team three years straight. We want to try our luck.".

Then it came out that DeShawn called LeBron overrated. That was huge news bc most ppl hadn't really heard of Stevenson too much. Yes, he started for the Wiz and was making great improvements, but nationally he was a blip on the radar compared to Bron. (I'm not gonna lie, I knew DS, but wasn't sure how to spell his name. Lower case or capital S? It's a capital S.)

Now everyone knows his name bc of this feud. And he's going down in NBA history as the first player to get dissed on a rap record by an NBA minority owner.
After Stevenson's remarks, Bron said responding "would be like Jay-Z saying something bad about Soulja Boy."

Well Stevenson called up Soulja, and the teenage rapper showed up at the next Wiz-Cavs game, did his dance in the aisles and watched the Wiz roll to their first win in the series.
Then Jay-Z, minority owner of the NJ Nets, stepped in and made a diss record. It's pretty good actually.
Jay remixed Too Short's "Blow the Whistle" to have Bron's back. Jay even reps the Bay Area on the track ... I think it was sposed to be part of the diss, but I think Jay got confused as to where Fresno is.

The ill lyrics on the track: "Who the (bleeps) overrated?/ If anything they underpaid him/ Hatin, that's only gonna make him spend a night out of spite with a chick you've been datin'."

Dang, it's like that?

Not only did Jay make the track but then it got played a number of times during a Friday night party at arguably the best club in DC ... and the Wizards' Caron Butler was there. And he was pissed. So pissed he walked out immediately and the Wiz say they're gonna boycott the club. (That doesn't matter THAT much. I mean, Gilbert Arenas is the biggest sports figure in town, but the Redskins run the city. ... I wouldn't be surprised if Gil threw a party there in the future. He's had his birthday party there.)

Needless to say, Stevenson was salty, especially since NBA near-scrub Damon Jones got on the mic at the club and was talking smack.

Said Stevenson to the Washington Post:
"He says he has a lot of swag, but I don't think that's something to do," Stevenson said about James. "This is basketball. I'm not worried about the song. I'm not worried about what he did. But for Damon Jones to get on the mic. And I heard he was saying foul stuff about me and stuff like that, they're taking it beyond basketball to me.

"Everybody is saying the bad things that I'm saying nationally, but they don't understand why I'm mad. That stuff doesn't come out. I'd rather be the bad guy. People think I'm going at him, but they don't see the little stabs that he's doing."

So, DS, Is Bron still overrated?

"I still feel that way," Stevenson told the Post. "I think he's a good player, but I just don't think he's Kobe Bryant, a guy who you try to get your sleep on, you worry about, you can't stop no matter what you do. [LeBron] is a good player. But compared to the people I think who are true MVP all-stars.

"The whole thing is a little overblown," he added. "I said he's overrated, I didn't say he sucks. If you look at the games and what's going on, I know when I go to sleep I know we have to play LeBron James. When I go to sleep and know we have to play the Lakers, I know it's going to be a long night. It's the difference between the Kobes and LeBrons. Not saying he will never get there, but that's what I'm saying.

"When I had Soulja Boy here. It was on the court," Stevenson said. "It was nothing disrespecting him or his family or even foul language."

DS even broke down the orginiation of the beef for a Post columnist:

The genesis of this beef, according to DeShawn, is all on LeBron. He's the one, DeShawn said, who trashed Stevenson and the Wizards within earshot of Drew Gooden, a former Cavaliers player who happens to Stevenson's best friend in the league from their days together in Orlando.

"He thought it wasn't going to get back to me," Stevenson said. "He said something about my game. He said I'm getting a lot of hype this year, that he doesn't think I'm the good player I am and basically that I suck, our team sucks and we're not going anywhere. I took offense to that. If LeBron James never said that comment, we wouldn't have the rivalry we have right now."

For his part, LeBron admits he's called Stevenson's game into question but said he's never gotten personal, adding, "I don't know DeShawn."

DS responded to Jay with no ill words ... he actually embraced the diss, saying "I appreciate Jay-Z for giving me the shout out."

Gil spinned it positively as well, and according to the Post, kind of convinced DS of the positives as well: "

It's Hova," Arenas said. "It's the big dog. It's not like it's somebody else. If I had three people to talk about me in a song it would be Jay-Z, Michael Jackson and Prince. And Tupac and Biggie, let's be for real. Jay-Z had the time. That means he sat down somewhere, three minutes out of his time he had to write something."

Stevenson didn't have the best reaction until Arenas convinced him that having Jay-Z mention him in a record was an honor. "Jay-Z doesn't mention too many names," Arenas continued. "There's LeBron, Jordan and a couple of years ago he mentioned Yao and T-Mac. If I'm DeShawn, 'Thank you brother. Appreciate you brother.' "

I don't even know what I'd do at this point if I'm DS. The best rapper alive just came out to defend his boy.

The only thing left to do is put a call into Nas.

Or better yet, dunk on Bron and carry the Wiz past the Cavaliers. I'd def. be happy, if only to get the Wiz out of the first round for once.