Game Launches Amateur Basketball Team in Los Angeles

Game's passion for the game of basketball has led him to organize his own competitive basketball team in Los Angeles. The athletic rapper is the player, coach and general manager of his own amateur basketball team called Go Ham, based out of South Central L.A.'s Drew League.

Since the NBA lockout, Game has recruited some top ball handlers to join his team. His roster boasts names like Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant, Minnesota Timberwolves' Derrick Williams and Ron Artest of the Lakers.

Although Game is well-known rapper, it was initially hard to convince players to join him on the court. "In the beginning I had to sell something like, 'If you play on the team, I'll go wherever you’re from and we can do a show or something,’ as a favor to him,” Game tells Yahoo! Sports. "But now the word on the Drew League is everywhere, and guys are hitting me up to play."

Game was also met with some resistance from Drew League director Dino Smiley because of the rhyme slinger's checkered past playing street-ball. Four years ago, the rapper served an 8-day sentence for allegedly threatening an opponent with a gun during a pickup game of basketball at a L.A. schoolyard.

"A lot of these courts I was banned from," Game says. "But once I got a little older and settled into my family life, my kids, I had to come here and holler at Dino Smiley. He said, 'Yo Game, you're a menace.' I was like, 'Man, I’m 30 now. Chill.' He said, 'We are going to let you put a team in, but we don't want no bull, no nothing.'"

Since then, Game has been enjoying his time playing in the league; however, he's not ready to quit rap, just yet. "Being a rapper is definitely cooler," he says. "People don’t even know some NBA players if you ain’t Kobe [Bryant] or Carmelo [Anthony]. As a rapper, you get all the perks."

Get up on Game when he drops his new LP 'The R.E.D. Album' on Aug. 23.

Watch the Game 'Dreams' Video