The entertainer Drake, a Toronto native, has been by far the most prominent celebrity fan of the Raptors for quite some time. In 2013, the team named him its global ambassador, and through that role and his consistent presence courtside at games, he has built relationships with several important members of the team. He was at one point caught giving former head coach Nick Nurse an unsolicited back massage during a playoff game against the Milwaukee Bucks, for instance. But far more notable have been the relationships he has built with players.
One such player? Former Raptors star DeMar DeRozan. However, this offseason, DeRozan appeared in the video for Kendrick Lamar’s song “Not Like Us.” The song was a diss track against Drake and part of a bigger feud between the two rappers. In June, DeRozan appeared on stage with Lamar in their shared hometown of Los Angeles and danced as he sang “Not Like Us.” In July, DeRozan told The Sacramento Bee that he still considered Drake a friend.
“Drake’s still my man, still my man, none of it changed,” DeRozan told Jason Anderson. “It’s so easy to get overlooked and look at it for what it looks like, but at the end of the day it’s music, entertainment. Two of the biggest rappers in the world went at it from a competitive standpoint and they battled it out. That’s what you want to see as a fan: Kobe (Bryant) playing (Michael) Jordan 1-on-1 and see who wins, see the trash talking, and whoever wins out of that, you’re still going to have the debate, so that’s all that is.”
Well, it seems as though Drake doesn’t feel quite the same way. DeRozan returned to Toronto as a member of the Kings on Saturday, which also happened to be the night that the Raptors retired Vince Carter’s jersey. Drake spoke briefly on the Toronto broadcast of the game, and while it’s hard to tell whether or not he’s being serious, he expressed his hope that DeRozan, a four-time All-Star during his Raptors tenure, wouldn’t receive the same treatment as Carter.
“If you ever put a DeRozan banner up, I’ll go up there and pull it down myself,” he said.
After the game, DeRozan was asked about Drake’s comments and replied, “He’s going to have a long way to climb to take it down, so tell him good luck.”
While the Raptors have not publicly stated whether or not they plan to retire DeRozan’s number, it is certainly well within the realm of possibility. While he was not quite the cultural icon Carter was, DeRozan played more games and scored more points as a Raptor. He did not leave by choice, and trading him for Kawhi Leonard ultimately led to the team’s only NBA championship. He has said in the past that he wants to retire as a Raptor some day. In all likelihood, the Raptors will one day hang a DeRozan banner in the rafters, and when that happens, they’ll just have to hope any lingering beef between their ambassador and former superstar has been squashed.
