So it seems as if there’s some disagreement over my basketball-rap picks last week.

To all those who burned me in effigy for comparing Soulja Boy to J.J. Redick or just filled out an application to Kaplan University Online under my name and cell phone number, I get the point.

You know, the images of violence broadcast around the world over this simple piece of art really got to me. My editors didn’t want to incite another round of protests, and begged me not to run this piece today. But I must do what I know is right. I stand by my scientific, double-blind, university-tested, eHarmony personality-matching-robot-verified hip-hop and basketball equivalency equations.

After all, to truly understand hip-hop, you’ve got to know basketball. In honor of that time-proven principle, the following is part 2 of what is* a 100 percent guaranteed accurate study*.

Dennis Rodman — L.L. Cool J

Who else spent the ’90s asking, “Jesus Christ, will this guy keep his damn shirt on?”

Plus, L.L. probably wears a dress now and then.

Rick Fox — Will Smith

Pretty boys with hot wives who were just barely any good. Their bland, slow and repetitive styles of play weren’t fit for the 21st century. At least Will still has his movie career, but his new albums blend mid-1980s lyricism and post-apocalyptic elevator music.

Charles Barkley — Big Punisher

This one’s obvious. NutriSystem would have prolonged both of their careers, right, NFL legend Dan Marino?

Fat Joe — Antoine Walker

Yeah, he’s good. But I can’t think he would look so winded during performances without the Caliendo/Madden gut (God, that impression’s getting old).

Wilt Chamberlain — Notorious B.I.G.

Did anyone dominate an era more convincingly than these two? Wilt scored 100 points in a game, and the NBA even changed the rules in a desperate attempt to level the playing field. B.I.G. was a lyrical sultan whose rhymes and diction are still present in a majority of modern rappers. He changed the rules himself.

Michael Jordan — Tupac

The greatest all-around performers ever in their respective fields. Tupac could instantly boost the quality of any beat with his driving prose, and Jordan instantly improved any team with what scientists might call his aura. Plus, Jordan retired momentarily, only to return as the best player alive and Tupac died momentarily before his leftover recordings crowned him the greatest rapper ever.

Scottie Pippen — Snoop Dogg

First off, they look pretty similar. No? OK, as the ultimate support man for the Tupac-led West Coast ascendance — then for Dr. Dre and Eminem — Snoop always seems to be on the winning team. Each spent his twilight years making the best of uncomfortable homes and faded away respectably. These days, Scotty Pippen is a TV analyst and Snoop is a TV father.

Dwight Howard — Lupe Fiasco

Not the most publicized or marketable superstars with their talent, but true basketball loyalists love Dwight Howard, and hip-hop loyalists love Lupe. Fiasco may not have muscles for his muscles’ muscles, but it’s attitude that makes these two true beasts.

Jason Terry — Lil’ Jon

Yeah, okay, it’s really good stuff. But it all sounds the same.

Yao Ming — Mike Jones

He gets a ton of attention from a far-away place that I don’t really understand. The language barrier is too overwhelming.

Tim Hardaway — Jedi Mind Tricks

Solid performers who haven’t won anything. We all know about Tim Hardaway’s “hate” for gay people, and who haven’t Jedi Mind Tricks offended besides non-Saudi anti-American Muslims?

1990s Indiana Pacers — Jurassic 5 (Reggie Miller — Chali2na)

Why don’t more people like these guys?

San Antonio Spurs — A Tribe Called Quest (Tim Duncan — Q-tip)

Ditto. Respect isn’t as good as buying the album.

Boston Celtics (current) — Wu Tang Clan

Boston Celtics (1960s) — Wu Tang Clan

Bill Russell and Ghostface seem like they would play frolf on weekends.

Dwayne Wade — Lil’ Wayne

Scary that, after this long, we still don’t know how good these guys can be. (UPDATE: This list was originally made last year, so you know, stuff has happened since then and whatnot.)

Of course, the list is endless. Plus, no conclusive match exists for LeBron James. But here are the rest of the matches calculated and confirmed beyond a margin of error**

p.s. more scientifically approved matches coming in the future. So Stay with the # 1 pretty okay source for half-decent media, Air And Sea Battle.

pps. Who is LeBron, anyways???

*It depends on what your definition of “is” is.

** Includes unrelated margins of error noted at some point throughout the course of modern world history.

Happy Thanksgiving! In honor of this most holy of all holidays, we’ll resurrect a popular column written for my former newspaper – comparing basketballers to ballahs. A&SB will be sure to update our list as frequently as possible, so post your suggestions, gripes, moans, groans and concerns. Stay tuned for part 2!

Is there any sport more hip-hop than basketball? Sure, it’s a team game, but one great individual can carry you over the top. And legends aren’t just born via stats, but through style. All the while, it takes a truly great coach (producer), to take a team to the championship (BET award?). The bottom line is that, to understand hip-hop, you’ve got to know basketball.

In an effort to increase hip-hop knowledge worldwide, A&SB is proud to present the authoritative list of rap and basketball equivalency. Using a complicated formula utilizing stylistic similarities, career success and eHarmony’s personality matching robot, I can present a list that is beyond arguing with and guaranteed* to be 100 percent accurate.

J.J. Redick — Soulja Boy

Even in their respective primes, we all knew they wouldn’t last for long. Soulja Boy made a pop dance track, J.J. Redick made a ton of 3-pointers. It doesn’t mean they’re any good.

Kobe Bryant — Jay-Z

Some may complain about a lack of substance, but they’re beyond talented. When Kobe touches the ball, he’s going to score. When Jay-Z puts out an album, he’s going platinum.

Kevin Garnett — DMX

They look alike. They look pissed.

03-04′ Detroit Pistons — G-Unit (Chauncey Billups — 50 Cent, Rasheed Wallace — Lloyd Banks, Tayshaun Prince — Young Buck, Rip Hamilton — Tony Yayo)

Both achieved success through boring repetition, but they are pretty gangsta — no one can question that. Just ignore the anguished cries as they fade into obscurity.

Tracy McGrady — Akon

Consistent. Seriously, they always do the same thing. Akon’s songs all sound the same, and T-Mac has great regular seasons, but never gets past the first round of the playoffs. How much time are you gonna spend reminiscing about these two when you get old?

Gary Payton — Canibus

They look like aliens from the same planet. Gary Payton was an all-time defensive player who signed terrible contracts most of his career and faded away late. Canibus has chosen even worse beats throughout his career, but he’s still probably the most talented lyricist ever. And for the love of God, don’t buy that terrible album he made with Phoenix Orion.

Steve Nash — Common

Both unconventional stars who don’t fit in with the rest of the league (read: not as gangsta). Common dresses like a fly Bill Cosby and Steve Nash dresses like a tiny Canadian.

Still, you can’t argue with results — both are future Hall-of-Famers (NAACP Image Award?)

Allen Iverson — Eminem

Outstanding individual performers who never made anyone better, but then again, maybe D-12 and the Philadelphia 76ers were hopeless.

Sebastian Telfair — Bow Wow

Both are young, talented, were on TV way before they were ready. Telfair has shown flashes of brilliance, while Bow Wow has been more like a flickering nightlight.

Darko Milicic — Freeway

Way too easy: They were hyped excessively, and both really, really suck.**

76ers Julius Erving — Bone Thugs N’ Harmony (Julius Erving — Krazie Bone)

You ever catch those sweet replayed 76ers games from the 1970s? Dr. J’s famous fake behind-the-back pass is the equivalent of the foggy scenes in the “Crossroads” video.

Micheal Redd —Omarion

Damn fine, if inexplicably unpopular, players held back by comically bad teammates and management.

Manu Ginobili — Jadakiss

Everyone seems to hate this guy, but damn it, he’s on TV again.

Jason Kidd — Juvenile

Maybe I just don’t remember the ’90s well enough, but these two got old quick.

Isaiah Thomas and Joe Dumars — Dead Prez

Popularly hated, but respected by the purists. Most common reaction from their former competitors: Man, those guys were assholes.

Magic Johnson — Guru

Okay, so Gang Starr hasn’t gone anywhere, and as far as I know, didn’t catch AIDS from a backhoe full of whores. But look at their body of work in the late ’80s and early ’90s — productive, but stylish.

Vince Carter — Busta Rhymes

Defined by flashy antics, but solid all-around performers. Busta Rhymes found a better home with Flipmode than Vince Carter has at… wherever he plays now. Both fall just short of Hall-of-Fame status. (Source Award)

Shaquille O’Neal — P. Diddy

How many nicknames do these guys have between them?

Shaq, Shaq Diesel, Shaq Daddy, The Big Fella, The Big Aristotle, to name a few. And we all know about the Puff Daddy-Puffy-Diddy debacle. Plus, both receive constant praise even when things go bad, then leave the scene. P. Diddy has formed at least 40 shitty bands and disappears when inevitable failure sets in. Likewise Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade haven’t won a championship without Shaq. Don’t think about that last sentence too much.

* Guarantee does not apply to the contiguous Unites States, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, places contaminated by trace amounts of Castro DNA, nation-states that provide fiscal support to David Hasselhoff, bodies surrounded by water on four sides, areas that used to be connected to Russia by land bridge, former member continents of Pangea.

** I mean, just awful. Really bad, but not the good kind of bad — the kind that makes you sad for them. The kind where putting them on TV feels like exploitation. Ever hear of William Hung?

If you think the list is wrong, check the stats, because it’s not.* Special thanks to Uko Etim and Joey Grihalva for technical considerations.