Drake is a huge basketball fan, and based on pure popularity, there’s not many rappers in the game right now with his type of cultural influence.
My Top 5 is probably Lupe Fiasco, Eminem, Nas, Tupac, and Kanye West, but I certainly respect what Drake does, even if he’s not in my upper tier of favorite rappers.
Drake stopped by Oakland on Tuesday for his Summer Sixteen Tour, and brought out the most highly anticipated free agent acquisition in Warriors’ history.
“I want you to make some noise for my brother Trey 5, Kevin Durant!” Drake announced to the packed house at Oracle Arena.
Durant has faced a lot of backlash for his decision to leave Oklahoma City this offseason, especially from fans in Oklahoma.
Hopefully this warm reception at the arena where he’ll be playing home games has helped to reassure him that he has made the right decision.
Durant has hinted in interviews these past couple months that the vitriol has really affected him, so maybe this positive reinforcement offsets some of that negative energy thrown his way.
Also it’s important to note that Drake isn’t some huge Warriors fan, friendship with Stephen Curry aside.
Although he’s officially a Raptors fan, he tends to associate with winners from any region, and has used this tour to ingratiate himself with numerous fan bases around the league.
Newly acquired Knicks point guard Derrick Rose joined him on stage while at Madison Square Garden, and Drake also brought out Cavaliers superstar LeBron James while performing in Columbus, Ohio.
I’m sure Drake is a really cool guy, explaining why he has so many friends available to devote their night to joining him on stage at concerts.
This is really more about Durant getting the opportunity to soak in some love from the Bay Area. Big thanks to Drake for making that possible.