On a monumental night for the Toronto Raptors and the team’s former star Vince Carter, the biggest news was about someone in the stands: Drake.
The hometown rapper and Toronto Raptors global ambassador sat courtside for the halftime retirement ceremony of Carter’s number Saturday night (Nov. 2), and joined TSN commentators Matt Devlin and Jack Armstrong for the broadcast of the game between the Raptors and Sacramento Kings.
After insisting the broadcast get a shot of fellow Toronto artist Jessie Reyez, Drake took some shots at his former friend DeMar DeRozan. The former Raptors star who now plays for the Kings appeared in the video for Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss track “Not Like Us.”
Drake acknowledged the importance of Carter, the first Raptors player to have his jersey retired in Toronto, but said “unfortunate we’re playing this goof tonight,” referring to DeRozan.
Later, he said “If you ever put up a DeRozan banner, I’ll go up there and pull it down myself.”
In a post-game media scrum, a reporter asked the Sacramento Kings star about Drake’s comment. “He’s going to have a long way to climb,” he quipped. “Tell him good luck.” Then, he abruptly got up and left the podium.
DeRozan appeared in the music video for his hometown Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar’s hit “Not Like Us,” which included many veiled and overt shots at Drake. He also danced onstage during the performance of the song at Kendrick’s hometown Pop Out concert .
It seemed like the former Raptor had chosen his side in the Drake-Kendrick feud, but he later told the Sacramento Bee that he and Drake were still on good terms. “Drake’s still my man,” he said . “None of it changed.”
Apparently Drake doesn’t feel the same way.
It was a special night for the Raptors, who retired the number of its first franchise superstar Vince Carter. Carter played for the team from 1998 to 2004, and put the city on the basketball map. His electrifying dunks made him a global culture phenomenon. He was an investor in Toronto’s first nightclub with bottle service, and brought many celebrities to the city.
Carter and the team had a bitter breakup, and many fans never forgave him until recently. But his influence remains undeniable. Some have argued the popularity of Carter paved the way for stars like Drake to make an international impact from Toronto.
Carter gave a shoutout to Drake during his speech and relayed a story that he once threw his armband to him at a Raptors game when the rapper was a teenager. “How about that?” he said. “A freaking icon here that I threw my armband to! See I be knowing.”
Drake’s appearances at Raptors games are less frequent than they used to be, but he still has a way of making headlines every time he’s there.
