Music is one of the many constants in the life of an NBA player. From the weight room to the locker room to the arena, music is always being blasted, helping to provide an extra energizing and motivating factor for players. In fact according to Kenny Ducey of Hashtag Important, music may actually help some players like J.R. Smith play better.

According to some number and date crunching by Ducey, the music of Lil' Wayne means so much to Smith that the notoriously streaky scorer actually plays better after the rapper releases a new album or mixtape. 

From Ducey:

Now, I can’t guarantee J.R. listened to these albums and mixtapes before he played in his next game. I can say, though, his shot totals show he’s a bit juiced up in these contests. One thing that was evident during the study was that J.R. hit a hot streak a couple of these times. Most notably, his 32-pt showing in Boston in 2013 was followed by a 35-pt outing, and then a 37-pt performance. 

Before you think this is all just a crazy coincidence, do note that Smith has a Young Money neck tattoo and has stated in the past that Lil' Wayne is his favorite rapper.

It is fair to still doubt the validity of Smith actually playing better because of new music from Lil' Wayne but as Dion Waiters famously stated "buckets don't" lie.

J.R. Smith looks to Lil' Wayne for inspiration.
J.R. Smith looks to Lil' Wayne for inspiration. (USATSI)