You've probably heard it a thousand times by now. Whether you were blastin' it in your car or watching a breakdown on TikTok, that one specific bar from Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" has a way of sticking to your ribs.
"I'm finna pass on this body, I'm John Stockton."
It sounds simple. Almost too simple for a guy like Kendrick, right? Wrong. In the middle of the most explosive rap beef of our generation, this wasn't just a sports reference. It was a tactical strike. People are still debating what it actually means because, honestly, Kendrick doesn't do "simple." He does layers. He does psychological warfare.
When he dropped that Kendrick Lamar John Stockton line, he wasn't just talking about basketball. He was setting a trap.
The Surface Level: Just a Point Guard?
If you're a sports fan, the literal meaning is obvious. John Stockton is the NBA’s all-time leader in assists. He’s the guy who didn't care about the spotlight; he just wanted to set up the play and get the ball to the person who could finish. He finished his career with 15,806 assists. That’s a record so massive it feels fake.
So, on the surface, Kendrick is saying he’s "passing." He’s got the ball, he’s got the "body" (Drake), and he’s choosing to pass.
But why pass?
In the context of a rap battle, "catching a body" means defeating your opponent. By saying he’s going to "pass on this body," Kendrick is basically telling Drake: You aren’t even worth the kill shot yet. Or maybe, I’m passing this opportunity to the rest of the world to finish you off.
It’s the ultimate flex. It’s saying, "I’m so much better than you that I can play point guard and let the audience, the industry, and the culture do the scoring for me."
The Darker Layer: The Karl Malone Connection
Now, this is where things get kinda messy. You can't talk about John Stockton without talking about his partner in crime, Karl Malone. They were the duo. The pick-and-roll masters.
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But Karl Malone has a very dark history.
Specifically, the "Mailman" impregnated a 13-year-old girl when he was 20. It's a well-documented, disgusting part of his legacy that many people try to sweep under the rug. Kendrick, however, has a memory like an elephant.
Earlier in the beef, and throughout "Not Like Us," Kendrick repeatedly attacked Drake with allegations regarding his conduct with younger women. By invoking the name of Stockton, Kendrick isn't just praising a basketball player. He’s intentionally drawing a parallel to the Stockton-Malone dynamic.
- The Duo: Stockton passes, Malone scores.
- The Subtext: If Kendrick is Stockton, who is the Malone in this scenario?
- The Accusation: He’s linking the "scoring" (the behavior) to the predatory nature of Malone.
It’s a quintuple entendre. It’s surgical. Kendrick is basically saying, "I know who you are, I know who you run with, and I know exactly what kind of 'points' you're trying to put on the board."
Why This Line Hit Different at the Super Bowl
Fast forward to February 2025. Super Bowl LIX. New Orleans.
Kendrick takes the stage for the halftime show, and the world is waiting. When "Not Like Us" starts, the energy shifts. But Kendrick, being the perfectionist he is, tweaks the line.
"I’m finna crash on this body, I’m John Stockton."
Wait, crash?
The shift from "pass" to "crash" changed the entire vibe. While "pass" felt like a strategic move, "crash" felt like a physical impact. It was aggressive. It was a statement that the time for "passing" was over. The game was won, and now he was just dominating the court.
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Even John Stockton himself had to chime in. In an interview on The Ultimate Assist Podcast, Stockton admitted his kids told him about the shoutout. He seemed a bit surprised to be trending alongside a rap superstar in 2025, but hey, that’s the power of a Kendrick bar. It makes 62-year-old NBA legends relevant to teenagers in an instant.
The Strategy of 6:16 in LA
We can't ignore the precursor. Before "Not Like Us" became the anthem of the summer, Kendrick dropped "6:16 in LA" on Instagram.
This track was a psychological masterpiece. It used a sample from Al Green’s "What a Wonderful Thing Love Is," which—get this—features guitar work from Mabon "Teenie" Hodges. Teenie Hodges is Drake’s uncle.
Kendrick was literally rapping over Drake’s own family tree while telling him that his OVO circle was full of moles.
When people search for the Kendrick Lamar John Stockton line, they often get the two songs mixed up because the themes of Stockton (the assist, the teammate, the "pass") are woven through both. In 6:16 in LA, Kendrick is playing the "mole" angle. He’s saying he has people on the inside. He’s passing information. He’s setting up the play.
Breaking Down the "Option" Bar
Right before the Stockton mention, Kendrick says:
"How many opps you really got? I mean, it's too many options."
This is a play on words. Usually, "options" are a good thing. But here, Kendrick is saying Drake has so many enemies ("opps") that Kendrick has "options" on how to take him down.
- He could do it himself.
- He could let the industry do it.
- He could let the legal rumors do it.
"I'm finna pass on this body" is Kendrick choosing his option. He's choosing to step back and let the sheer weight of the allegations and the cultural shift do the heavy lifting. It’s a "Stockton" move because Stockton never needed to be the leading scorer to be the most dangerous man on the floor.
Is There a Misconception?
Some people think Kendrick was just reaching for a rhyme. "Options" and "Stockton."
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Honestly? That’s lazy.
Kendrick Lamar is the same guy who wrote To Pimp a Butterfly. He doesn’t do "filler." Every name-drop is a deliberate choice. If he wanted a rhyme for options, he could have used "plotting," "rotten," or "forgotten."
He chose Stockton because Stockton is the "invisible" legend. He’s the guy who stayed in Utah for 19 years, wore short shorts, and just did his job while being one of the most statistically dominant players in history. Kendrick sees himself as that guy—the one who stays out of the Hollywood limelight (unlike Drake) but controls the entire game from the perimeter.
What This Means for Hip-Hop in 2026
Looking back at this from the vantage point of 2026, the Stockton line was the turning point. It was the moment the beef stopped being about "who has the better flow" and started being about "who has the better character."
Kendrick used a sports icon to highlight a moral divide.
He took a Hall of Famer known for his "wholesome" Utah Jazz image and used him as a mirror to reflect the "unwholesome" reality he was accusing Drake of living. It was brilliant. It was mean. And it was incredibly effective.
Next Steps for the Culture:
If you want to truly understand the depth of this rivalry, don't just look at the lyrics. You need to look at the release dates. Look at how "6:16 in LA" dropped on a Friday morning (May 3, 2024), only for "Family Matters" and "Meet the Grahams" to collide just hours later. The Stockton line wasn't just a bar; it was a signal that the "assists" were coming in from everywhere—moles, producers, and even Drake's own family history.
If you're still skeptical, go back and listen to the Al Green sample in 6:16. Notice the timing. Notice how the "pass" happens right as the beat breathes. That’s not a coincidence. That’s a masterclass.