Boston Celtics

Lil B on the Celtics: ‘They are playing with the Based God’s blessing right now’

The Based God first blessed the Celtics in September.

Jaylen Brown Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown drives to the basket. Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff

Rapper Lil B, known for relaying NBA blessings and curses, has confirmed Boston is currently “playing with the Based God’s blessing.”

“The Cavs do not officially have the Based God’s blessing,” Lil B told Boston.com before Game 2. “We have not talked about that, but the Celtics are playing basketball as a team and organization with the Based God’s blessing behind them.”

Not only is Boston “blessed by the Based God,” but the team is also Lil B’s personal pick to win the Eastern Conference Finals. After winning both Games 1 and 2 at home, Boston heads to Cleveland for Saturday’s Game 3 with a 2-0 series lead.

Advertisement:

Lil B, who is from Berkeley, Calif., first gave the Celtics — and specifically Jaylen Brown — his blessings a month before the regular season tipped off in October. Brown, who attended Cal Berkeley for a year before declaring for the 2016 NBA Draft, met the rapper after watching one of his shows in California.

Lil B said Brown had an “honest smile” and gave him an “honest hug.”

“He gave me a hug that felt very genuine,” he said. “Just a real good guy.”

The Based God and Lil B have kept tabs on Brown and the Celtics over the course of their emotional season. After a tantalizing rookie campaign, Brown has stepped up as a key contributor for the injury-ridden team.

Advertisement:

“I love just how physical and how quick he is, how he can get to the basket and dunk,” Lil B said. “Just a very smooth, all-around player. He can play defense, offense; he’s just a team player that can space the floor.”

Periodically throughout the regular season, Lil B tweeted reminders of the Based God’s blessings and also wished Gordon Hayward a successful recovery. Hayward went down with a season-ending ankle injury during the first quarter of the team’s season opener in October.

“The Based God really felt he deserved an honest blessing, after showing his perseverance, his positive energy, and his willpower to play the game and be a team leader,” Lil B told Boston.com. “The Based God just wanted to send his utmost blessings to Mr. Hayward and also give him his blessings for a speedy recovery.”

According to Lil B, the Based God is somebody who tries to bring “fairness” and “balance” to the league.

“Straight good vibes,” he said. “That’s how we live.”

So how exactly does one earn blessings from the Based God?

It’s a collective effort from everyone associated with the team.

“The players, the organization, the staff, everybody is involved,” Lil B said. “Everybody matters.”

Advertisement:

The Denver Nuggets, for example, landed a spot on the Based God’s warning list after “a staff mishap.” The team’s Twitter account claimed to not know who Lil B was, so the Based God went to work and the Nuggets promptly lost to the Philadelphia 76ers that night. As Lil B explained, “the team suffered for something the organization did on that one.”

For those who may doubt the power of the Based God, just ask Kevin Durant about its legitimacy. While playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant was cursed for calling Lil B’s music “wack.” Even when OKC held a 3-1 lead over the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference Finals, Lil B knew Durant would not be advancing to the NBA Finals.

He ended up lifting the curse once Durant signed with the Warriors, and of course, Durant went on to win his first NBA title the following season.

“I’m just saying the curse is real,” he said. “The blessings are real.”