New York Knicks

R.I.P Phife Dawg, the 5-foot assassin with all the sports references

Published Mar. 23, 2016 7:54 p.m. ET

Andre Vergara

The music world lost a beloved emcee when Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest died this week. It also lost a huge sports fan.

Phife peppered his rhymes with sports references more than most rappers. A diehard Knicks fan, he shouted out his baller buddies and favorite athletes — mostly Knicks and 1990s NBA players he knew from New York, like Kenny Anderson, Jamal Mashburn and Malik Sealy.

We lost one of our biggest fans today & an influential artist. #RIPPhife #PhifeDawg
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 23, 2016

He couldn't help himself. He used his album liner notes to shout out the Knicks ("we ain't winnin' Jack, until we get a point guard") and call out former Knicks president Dave Checketts for "(expletive) up the draft".

So in honor of his memory, here are our top 10 favorite Phife Dawg sports references:

10. "I come out to play every night like Charles Oakley" ("Baby Phife's Return")

No-brainer for a Knicks fan like Phife to salute Oakley, the gritty grinder of those '90s teams who did all the dirty work. Back when a flagrant foul really was flagrant.

9. "I'm out like Buster Douglas" ("Vibes and Stuff")

Easy target. Douglas shocked the world when he KO'd Mike Tyson in 1990, then held the heavyweight belts for just eight months before getting flattened by Evander Holyfield and quitting the game to go get even fatter. Phife probably took it extra hard since Tyson came from Bedstuy.

James Douglas lays on the canvas after being knocked out by Evander Holyfield on Oct. 25, 1990 at Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

8. "Your styles are incomplete, same as Vinny Testaverde" ("The Chase Pt. II")

See? Ripping on Cleveland Browns QBs is a time-honored tradition that knows no bounds.

7. "We've been known to do the impossible like Broadway Joe"("Scenario")

Phife wasn't even born yet when "Broadway Joe" Namath guaranteed, and delivered, a Jets victory over the Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969. Props. (Extra props to Sean Gentille and Nick Birdsong of Sporting News for making me realize I forgot this one.)

6. "I skate on your crew like Mario Lemieux" ("Keep It Rollin'")

Props for shouting out an NHL star, plus the rhyme was just so nice.

5. "Runnin mad games as if your name was Scott Skiles" ("The Infamous Date Rape")

Again, Phife showed the depth of his passion for sports. Who else would shout out the balding Orlando Magic point guard? If Aaron Gordon isn't up on this, shame on him.

4. "The height of Mugsy Bogues, complexion of a hockey puck" ("Steve Biko")

The 5-foot assassin nailed the comparison to the 5-3 former Charlotte Hornets star. The hockey puck was just a bonus.

3. "I'm Jordan with the mic, huh — wanna gamble?" ("Lyrics to Go")

Something about this rhyme just captures the swagger that made us love guys like MJ and Phife. Bonus points for the fact Jordan was a notorious gambler.

2. "(Expletive) around and have your heart, like Jordan had Starks" ("Baby Phife's Return")

Perhaps the most perfect description of the Bulls' dominance of the Knicks in the '90s. Had to be hard for Phife to put John Starks on blast like that. But even harder to not win a championship during Phife's entire adult life. HONORABLE MENTION: "To top it off, Starks got ejected." ("8 Million Stories")

1. "Ay yo Bo knows this, and Bo knows that, but Bo don't know jack, cause Bo can't rap" ("Scenario")

Bo Jackson was the bleepin' man, so for Phife to take a swing at his swag was like, well ... gambling against Jordan. Put it together with the fact that it was the jump-off on one of Tribe's most classic jams, and this one is No. 1 with a bullet.