The Roots kicked off the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans with a fantastic musical performance of The Evolution of Greatness, which honors the history of basketball. The Philadelphia hip-hop band enlisted several artists and celebrities to help them salute some of the greatest b-ballers in NBA history.

"We live in a culture that has always been obsessed with one age-old question: who's the best?" said the Roots' Black Thought in the opening the number. “What is excellence? What is supremacy? What is greatness.”

Afterward, Hamilton and Blackish co-star Daveed Diggs, Jidenna, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC and Michael B. Jordan, along with DJ Jazzy Jeff, all took turn to celebrate the NBA’s 40-year history.

In an interview with Billboard, DMC said the Roots wanted to bring an educational element to their musical tribute to the NBA. "[The Roots] wanted to do something that wasn’t just based on the entertainment value," he said. "While you’re entertaining people, you should be able to educate, inspire, motivate and teach, which is the basis of hip-hop."

The Roots certainly achieved that with their stellar performance. Watch the video above.

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