Drake may not physically be able to be with the Toronto Raptors as they defend their NBA title, but he is still finding a way to make his presence felt.
The Canadian rapper, who is perhaps the team’s most famous fan, sent some interesting gifts to them in the Orlando bubble. Multiple Raptors players, including Pascal Siakam, Stanley Johnson, Terence Davis, and Chris Boucher posted pictures to their Instagram Stories this week of customized candles that they had received courtesy of Drake and his record label OVO.
Drake, who also has an official role as the team’s global ambassador, has long been a fixture in the front row of Raptors games. During last season’s championship run, he went viral for a number of funny in-game antics.
While this year’s postseason will obviously look a lot different, rest assured that the Raptors will still be able to feel Drake’s presence in their hotel rooms when they put on “Take Care” and take a whiff of their scented candles.
World-famous rapper and Toronto Raptors ambassador Drake is taking precautionary steps after recently hanging out with Kevin Durant.
Sara Nathan of Page Six reported on Wednesday that the four-time Grammy winner is self-isolating in his Toronto mansion after he partied with Durant in West Hollywood, Calif. last week. The Brooklyn Nets star confirmed Tuesday that he was one of four players on the team to test positive for the coronavirus.
The Nets played the Lakers in Los Angeles on Mar. 10, and while Durant is still recovering from an Achilles tear, he was in attendance for the road game.
Earlier this week, Drake posted a video of his apparent home basketball court to Instagram and wrote “My life for the next however long” in the caption.
The “Marvin’s Room” singer is particularly tight with Durant, so it makes perfect sense for him to exercise caution, especially since they were together so close to Durant’s diagnosis.
Giannis Antetokounmpo responded after his Milwaukee Bucks’ 108-97 win in Toronto on Tuesday night to Drake trolling him.
Prior to the game, Drake, who is a Raptors ambassador, brought a couple of wrestling title belts with him to his courtside seats.
The belts seemed to have a dual meaning. For one, they could represent the title the Raptors won last season, where they came back in a playoff series to defeat Milwaukee before advancing to the NBA Finals. The other part is that Giannis enjoys wrestling as part of his pregame routine.
Giannis didn’t seem at all bothered by Drake. He had 19 points, 19 rebounds and 8 assists in the win and said after the game that he doesn’t really care about the rapper.
Drake loves trolling different NBA players as part of his fandom. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to have the negative effect on Giannis he was hoping for.
The two face-to-face meetings that helped unite Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the Los Angeles Clippers took place in a rather surprising spot.
Leonard and George had numerous discussions about joining together to play for the Clippers while Leonard was a free agent, but the pair only met in person twice while working through the process. Those meetings took place at rapper Drake’s house in Hidden Hills, California, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
The reason for this? Drake and Leonard had become friends during Leonard’s tenure with the Toronto Raptors. When Leonard visited Los Angeles to meet with teams, Drake permitted the forward to stay at his house, which is how Leonard and George ended up congregating there.
This actually fits with reporting at the time stating that Leonard had the Lakers move a meeting from El Segundo to Westlake Village in order to meet with George afterward. Hidden Hills is roughly an hour closer to Westlake Village, so it would make sense for this to be true.
The funny part about this is Drake is a well-known Raptors superfan who would have wanted to see Leonard stay in Toronto. In the end, his hospitality appears to have made it easier for Leonard to leave for Los Angeles, though that likely would have happened anyway.
Drake has claimed yet another victim in the sports world.
The Baltimore Ravens lost at home 28-12 to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night to see their season come to a premature and disappointing end. Those who were following things during the week might have seen it coming, though.
On Tuesday, Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson turned 23. Drake, a famous rapper, wished the quarterback happy birthday via Instagram. The message showed Drake wearing clothing that said “Truss” on it, which is a phrase the Ravens have used this season.
Right then and there, Drake officially and publicly showed his support to LJ, and it came before the Ravens’ playoff game.
So what’s the problem?
Drake is notorious for being a frontrunner, and whenever he jumps on a bandwagon, the team seems to lose. He even acknowledged that during the NFL playoffs last year.
Lamar Jackson would respectfully disagree with the notion he was cursed this week. He says he’s been friendly with the rapper for a while.
“Yeah it was pretty cool,” Jackson said of the shoutout. “I’ve been talking to Drake for the longest, you guys don’t know that, but I’ve been talking to him for the longest, so it was pretty cool.”
Jackson can say what he wants, but everyone else will say he fell victim to the curse.
If you’re an athlete, avoid Drake at all costs.
The Toronto Raptors received their championship rings for winning the NBA title in June, and superfan Drake got himself two — one the players received and another custom ring.
The rapper and Raptors ambassador shared photos of both rings on Instagram Tuesday as the team opened up the new season.
The rings the players received are the ones that said “North” on them. Drake’s custom ring features the old Raptors dinosaur mascot.
The rings are the biggest and most valuable ever made, according to Josh Lewenberg. They contain more than 650 diamonds.
Even fans who attended the home opener received replica rings.
Drake, a Toronto native, is a huge fan of the team and official ambassador. His partnership with the franchise included naming the practice facility after his company. He was seated courtside for the team’s home playoff games and got fans fired up at “Jurassic Park” during road games. Drake even became a big talking point throughout the postseason due to his involvement in multiple controversies.
A number of Toronto Raptors fans may have had classless reactions to Kevin Durant suffering a potentially serious Achilles injury during Game 5 on Monday night, but Drake was not one of them. In fact, the rapper went out of his way to let people know how concerned he is about the Golden State Warriors star.
After the Warriors came back to beat the Raptors and keep their championship hopes alive, Drake said in an Instagram post that his “only concern” is Durant’s health.
“Was tough for any of us to even enjoy that game tonight after seeing this transpire. Praying for our brother. That’s my only concern tonight is your well being. ‘The game needs me’ is an understatement when it comes to 35. Please wish the best for this true warrior,” Drake wrote.
Drake also showed Durant some love as he was helped off the court.
Raptors fans were scolded by their own players over their reaction to Durant’s injury, and Drake is the most recognizable of all of them. While you might think his actions and words were disingenuous, keep in mind that he is close with several Warriors players and had to cover up some of his tattoos before the NBA Finals because of that. That dynamic has likely made the series even more enjoyable for Drake, so it’s no surprise he’s disappointed Durant is not going to be a part of it going forward.
Drake left a hilarious comment on Fred VanVleet’s Instagram page after Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night.
VanVleet had part of a tooth knocked out on an inadvertent elbow from Shaun Livingston in the fourth quarter of the game. He exited to receive seven stitches on a cut and also could use some dental work now.
After the game, VanVleet posted a photo on his Instagram page showing his cracked tooth. Drake commented that he would let his “twin” use his free healthcare in Canada.
That humor and cleverness from Drake is why people love him.
VanVleet was cleared of a concussion and ready to return to the game, so he should be fine to play in Game 5 on Monday with his team looking to clinch the series.
Beyond being a die-hard Toronto Raptors fan, Drake actually has close relationships with many players across the NBA and probably roots for them when they’re not facing his team. Some Golden State Warriors fans want to make sure everyone keeps that in mind during the NBA Finals.
Two fans paid for a billboard near Drake’s hometown in Toronto that features lyrics from his song “The Motto.” In that track, Drake has a line about his love for the Bay Area.
Again, Drake has lots of NBA allegiances outside of Toronto. Heck, he even had to cover up some of his tattoos for the Finals because of it. That doesn’t make the billboard any less amusing.
H/T Bro Bible
Drake did not travel to Oracle Arena in Oakland for Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night, but the Toronto Raptors superfan made sure to get himself involved in the postgame storyline.
After the Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors 123-109, the popular rapper posted a photo on his Instagram story trolling Klay Thompson, who did not play in the game due to his strained hamstring. The photo was an old one of Klay shirtless with a few women. “Stay Golden my friends…goodnight” was his message, along with some laughing emojis.
Drake has been going back-and-forth with the Warriors throughout the series, trading trash talk and adding a fun element to the battle between the teams. All his talk seems to be in good fun considering he is friendly with their players.
