Tupac has been dead for more almost 20 years . (Please, please don't debate this. The man who gave us "Me Against the World" is no longer in it.)
MORE: Team USA practice photos
However, the rapper/actor/poet/activist's influence lives stronger than Lance Armstrong.
Kevin Durant's leg is proof.
The four-time scoring champion, who recently shook up the sports world when he decided to joint Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and join the Warriors, the team that eliminated his Thunder from the playoffs in the Western Conference Finals this past season, is now sporting a near life-size tattoo of Tupac's face on his leg. Photographers on hand at the U.S.. national team's practice in Las Vegas, where it's preparing for the Rio Olympics, took a few shots of Durant's new ink Thursday.
Kevin Durant's new tattoo: a picture of Tupac on his leg. (Picture: @ThompsonScribe) pic.twitter.com/M0OuKj4RO2
— Clevis Murray (@ClevisMurray) July 21, 2016
The piece seems to be the focal point of a leg-sleeve that's an ode to what's now considered to old-school rap. Note the "W" below Tupac's face. It the logo for the seminal nine-(or 10, if you count Cappadonna) member group. Wu-Tang Clan.
GENTILLE: WNBA sending mixed messages
Who knows if Durant got the tat in Las Vegas, but it certainly appears he did. If that's the case, there's also some eerie irony here when you consider the fact Tupac was shot to death in the SIn City.
Durant was eight-years old then, but Tupac's music is timeless. There are also other connections.
Tupac went to high school in Baltimore. Durant is from Suitland, Md. He carries his home state on his back wherever he goes, literally.
I didn't know Kevin Durant had this Maryland tattoo on his back. At least he's reppin for Maryland. pic.twitter.com/wrLgEmUr
— Ryan Oliver (@RyanOliverY1) December 4, 2012
He's also got the Nationals' logo tatted on his stomach.
Kevin Durant definitely has tattoos. @3HL1045 @brentdougherty @bbishop23 pic.twitter.com/DQNFSDJLbG
— J.R. Moran (@JRMoran2) May 5, 2015
NOVICK: Is comparing Ben Simmons to Draymond Green an undersell?
Both chose to leave the East Coast and head to California to pursue ultimate success. Tupac made it in big in Hollywood and dropped his classic "All Eyez on Me" double-album and "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" on Los Angeles-based Death Row Records. Durant's championship hoop dreams took him to the University of Texas, Seattle and Oklahoma City before taking his talents to Oakland.
Maybe, Durant will plaster Notorious B.I.G.'s mug on his other leg in permanent ink. Until then, "Keep Your Head Up."