As the Golden State Warriors walked off the Air Canada Centre floor, taking with them a 127-121 victory that never felt as up in the air as the score may suggest, Draymond Green howled as he lobbed an insult at Drake’s boots. Throughout the game, Drake and his Warriors pals – “family” and “great friends,” as he referred to them before the game – engaged in plenty of trash-talk. The specifics weren’t detectable from the media gondola high above the benches, but it stands to reason that Drake’s pre-game estimation that the banter would be unfriendly was correct. Green’s insult only capped a night that featured Steph Curry and Kevin Durant attempting an array of degree-of-difficulty heaves in order to chide their broadcast headset-adorned pal in his courtside seat.
For as well as the Toronto Raptors played, grinding to the very final possession on the second night of the most impossible back-to-back imaginable, the Warriors always seemed more concerned with the actor-turned-rapper than the cast-offs-turned-pseudo-contenders across from them. Part of that was the reality of the scheduling quirk, normally passed down by only the most dastardly of WWE authority figures. Part of it was an understandable hubris on the part of the title favorites, now reinforced with Durant (and Patrick McCaw), knowing they betsed the Raptors in a pair of barn-burners a year ago, too. Part of it was just sheer force of personality on the part of Drake, which is kind of the entire point of nights like this.
This is what Drake is and what Drake does. The fun levity his sideshow provides can become the center of attention, because Drake’s a lot of fun, and people like playing up for him and playing up against him. It’s not an accident that NBA players go to his concerts, invite him in to their locker rooms (or their flights), and step their games up when he’s courtside. Drake seems, from this moderate distance at least, a genuinely enjoyable person and a reasonable confidant for players with similar statures who seek spiritual refuge outside of their own sport. (Athletes wanna be rappers and rappers wanna be athletes, as Drake’s former mentor would point out.)
And so a very, very good basketball game in which the Raptors showed a ton of fight and spirit, and one they should leave with their dignity in tact, if not bolstered, seemed secondary to the Warriors’ triple-heaving, dagger-shooting, back-pedalling, shoulder-shimmying battle with Drake. And it’s fine! It was probably a lot of fun for those watching nationally on ESPN in the U.S., and it was probably a lot of fun to the segment of the Raptors’ fanbase to whom nights like this are meant to appeal.
This was, of course, Drake Night, the fourth such instalment of the series that’s long tied the global ambassador to the rising success and popularity of the breakout Raptors. The Raptors donned their OVO alternates, one of six jerseys they’ll wear this year, most of the in-game entertainment was Drake-themed, and Drake even held court with media beforeheand. It’s Drake who calls the shots here, Drake who altered the vague original plans for a late-season event because an ankle injury forced a change in tour plans, and Drake who selected the Warriors as the opponent.
“I think Drake Night, the reason why I try to pick the most exciting game, obviously everybody, doesn’t matter what city you’re in, I feel like everybody wants to sort of catch a glimpse of Golden state at this exciting juncture,” Drake explained during his customary pre-game media availability. “So, I tried to pick a exciting game and one that I personally think we can win. They’re a great team but they’re not, you know, they’re not invincible. And we have a phenomenal group of guys that I’m sure are, despite the fact that last night may have been tiring, I’m sure they’re ready to play hard tonight. Yeah, I want the Drake Night record to not only be all wins but I want them to be good wins, all good wins. I think I picked the right team, I’m excited.”
The organization almost surely would have preferred more notice and an opponent that wasn’t already one of the marquee dates on the scheduled, but it was a justifiable choice from Drake’s perspective. At its core, it makes for a fun night of friendly rivalry with his friends. It’s hard to fault him for choosing accordingly. But you’d be safe in betting that Drake was keenly aware the game was being broadcast nationally, a grand opportunity during his physical rehabilitation to remind a vast audience of his cultural omnipresence. This may be the least immediately relevant Drake has felt at any of the Drake Nights to date, but Drake’s shown an uncanny ability to buck the never-ending lessons of the fleeting impermanence of hip-hop dominance and remain at or near the top of the game, outlasting several mini-generations of contemporaries and competitors. Just last week, he dropped a handful of new tracks seemingly just because, realizing above all else that staying in the conversation is nearly as important as anything else. Being the focus of the 73-win Warriors and one of their small handful of challengers is a good means to continue toward that end.
Drake was insulated from a potential loss and the eye-rolls that might come from his occasional Warrior fandom thanks to the back-to-back scenario, too. Not that it would matter – last year’s Drake Night was an avatar for the unassailability of Drake as the uncool-cool pop icon, and nothing since then has really changed.
Except that it has. Drake Night felt different for a lot of reasons this year, few really any fault of Drake’s or of the relationship between the two sides. Last year’s timing seemed better, to be sure – Hotline Bling still had enough residual heat to necessitate an activation at Gate 1, for example, and there was enough lead time to create shirts people might actually want to wear – but it seems more like the team has outgrown a gimmicky night like this. Left on its own, Warriors-Raptors was still scheduled to be on ESPN, it was still producing some eye-popping secondary market ticket prices, and it was still on a short-list of the most must-see NBA games of the young season (it’s worth remembering that when the Warriors visited last year, it was one of the most-watched League Pass games of the year).
The Raptors sell themselves at this point, something that seemed unlikely, if not impossible, on the very first installment.
That doesn’t mean there’s not a place for Drake Night, because again, Drake is charming and likeable and important to fans and players alike, and his ability to self-deprecate and laugh at himself and accept being a walking meme makes coordinating an event, even a watered down one, something close to a layup. For his part, Drake seems willing to continue to do the best he can to make the Raptors an important piece of Toronto’s pop-culture tapestry, a consideration that gets scoffed at only by those to whom Drake’s tie-in is not directed, anyway.
“I’m really happy to be home, obviously. I’ve been away for a long time,” Drake said. “I’ve obviously been following the guys, I’m extremely excited here…Myself and Masai, you know, always discussing new and exciting things, new and exciting ways to keep the team inspired, to keep the city inspired. Tonight is our annual evening where we try and give back to the city.”
Since the first Drake Night, when nobody seemed sure if the Raptors’ newfound success was real or permanent, the organization has grown immensely. The ways in which that’s true don’t really require rehashing any longer. Nor do the ways in which Drake’s helped the franchise reach those new heights of relevance.
“I think it’s given our whole organization a new vibe, the city a vibe, of a guy like Drake representing and being part of the organization and having a night like that,” head coach Dwane Casey said before the game. “But it’s great for the fans, it’s great for the city to have an evening that represents one of our icons of the city and a guy that represents Toronto.”
Casey’s absolutely correct. Drake’s connection to the team is still a fun one that will galvanize certain segments of the fanbase. It’s a good time, and a reminder that Take Care is among the best albums ever produced. Drake Night will never hurt, because it’s innocent fun in an entertainment product.
The Raptors just moved past needing Drake Night. Drake’s contract as global ambassador expires at the end of this season, and it will be interesting to see if the stark contrast in buzz between Drake Night informs the next stage of the relationship in any way. Nothing was the same, but it doesn’t necessarily need to change.
