Who is the Knick at the center of Biggie's 'I Got A Story To Tell'? Fat Joe says Anthony Mason.

The biggest question in sports and the biggest question in music may be one and the same. 

Who was Biggie Smalls rapping about in his 1997 track "I Got A Story To Tell"?

It was a New York Knicks player whose woman Biggie once knew quite intimately, if you believe the yarn he spun back in '97. But which Knicks player? 

That very question has confounded music and sports fans alike for nearly 20 years. Now we have the closest thing yet to an answer. 

First, let's back up for the uninitiated. In "I Got A Story To Tell," Biggie raps about having relations with a woman who is also involved with a New York Knicks player. Here's the song -- we'll summarize it below. 

You can find the song's full lyrics at Genius.com, but the gist is as follows. 

• One day, the player comes home to interrupt Biggie and Biggie's paramour mid-coitus. 

• Thinking quick, Biggie pretends he's actually in the middle of a home robbery, points a gun at the player and makes his escape much the richer. 

• Then he calls his buddies on the cell and says, "Bring some weed, I got a story to tell." 
  

Since "I Got A Story To Tell" came out, many have wondered who the player could be -- if the entire thing isn't make-believe, that is. 

Duke fans have made their case Biggie was rapping about Hubert Davis, an alum of rival North Carolina. But ESPN's Bomani Jones said last year that he'd heard Davis is not, in fact, the unfortunate party in question. 

Now fast forward to this Monday. Jones and Dan Le Batard had the New York rapper Fat Joe on their ESPN show Highly Questionable. Fat Joe was friends with Biggie Smalls -- real name Christopher Wallace -- before either of them were nationally famous, and the two musicians remained friends until the latter died. 

Jones and Le Batard asked Fat Joe if he knew the identity of the Knick allegedly featured in "I Got A Story To Tell". 

"It was about Anthony Mason, rest in peace," Fat Joe said. 

Mason was a star on a run of good Knicks teams in the '90s. He died in March 2015 after suffering a heart attack. (Side note: Mason once appeared in a Beastie Boys music video.) Mason was also one intimidating dude -- although so was Biggie. 

But is it really so certain Mason is the player in "I Got A Story To Tell"? 

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Fat Joe walked his claim back a bit after naming Mason definitively. 

"You gotta also know that rappers -- this is entertainment so, you know, we stretch the truth, we change things up," he said. 

"What I heard was it was about Anthony Mason," Fat Joe added. "That was the very strong possibility rumor -- that it was about Anthony Mason."

Here's full Highly Questionable video, via The Cauldron's @cjzero.

Maybe it was Mason in "I Got A Story To Tell." Maybe it was another Knick who will one day be named -- or remain anonymous forever. Maybe Biggie based the story on something kind of similar -- or just fabricated the whole thing. 

Like the name of the show he made it on, Fat Joe's claim is highly questionable -- but as close to the truth as we're likely ever to come. 

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.