From rapper to lawyer, David Kelly does it all for Golden State Warriors

Chris Alvarez Image
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
From rapper to lawyer, David Kelly does it all for Warriors
Meet "cap D" better known as David Kelly, the Chief Legal Officer for the Golden State Warriors.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Meet "cap D" better known as David Kelly, the Chief Legal Officer for the Golden State Warriors.

"I wear a couple of different hats, on the business side, I'm just your typical general council, handle a lot of legal matters with the legal team," said Kelly. "On the basketball side I do salary cap. So, I report to Bob Myers and work with him and Kirk as far as navigating the salary cap and going over different trade scenarios."

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Kelly has been in his role with the Warriors since 2012, but is also a well-accomplished underground rapper who performed in Chicago.

"Used to have my own label, put out about eight or nine albums, sold under the name cap D or as a group All Natural. Been doing that since 1997, I think. The most recent one came out a couple of months ago," said Kelly.

So how did Kelly go from rapping to becoming a lawyer, the transition might not be as tough as you think.

"It's slightly different, went to law school in 2001. I put out a couple of albums but then decided I wanted to go to law school," said Kelly. "Came over to the Warriors in 2012, all that time I was occasionally putting out music but I know what pays the bills."

What pays the bills, his day job with the Warriors, which includes duties but not limited to helping out with the team's salary cap.

"We're looking at how contracts line up. What the cap and the tax may look like 3 years from now, we are always looking ahead," said Kelly.

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Kelly has been a part of three Warriors championship runs during his tenure, but says the first in 2015 will always hold a special space in his heart.

"I would say the first championship, 2015 championship. There were so many people, by that time I worked there for a few years, but there are a certain amount of people that had been there a long time and gone through so much to get to that moment," said Kelly.

While Kelly won't say exactly where he keeps his 3 NBA Finals rings, he does occasionally where them at black tie events, but for the most part they are stored in a safe space. Kelly was also a part of a Warriors hype video during the 2013 NBA Playoffs run.

WATCH: 2013 Warriors Playoff Hype Video

"There was a commercial we had done where Mark Jackson was talking about the playoffs and there was a hip hop beat behind it and it was a really cool beat. So, once we made the playoffs that year we just basically took that same beat and I wrote a rhyme about the team and that kind of became our unofficial playoff anthem for the year," said Kelly.

For more of his music you can search the group "All Natural" and their most recent album "Dark Night" can be found on Apple Music, Spotify and most streaming platforms.