Over the last couple years, Drake has become all but synonymous with the Toronto Raptors. As the team’s “Global Brand Ambassador”, he’s a face of the franchise and can frequently be spotted sitting courtside – although his biggest contribution in that department previously was making sure his pants remained lint free.
No longer.
During Monday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Drizzy pitched in to play a little “defence” for the Raps as Chicago’s Justin Holiday tried to inbounds the ball.
With the Bulls leading 106-103 and just 25.8 seconds remaining, Drake hovered just outside the court, engaging in a little “in-game conversation” with Holiday.
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And while the Bulls small forward seemed unphased, Drake’s “distraction” was enough to draw a 5-second violation as Holiday failed to inbounds the ball in time.
“I think Drake was out there counting that five,” commentator Matt Devlin joked as the Bulls protested the call.
Meanwhile, the Toronto-born singer reacted by celebrating on the sidelines, before turning to fire up the Raptors on their way back to the bench, the line between “Brand Ambassador” and “Assistant Coach” all but gone.
Unfortunately for Drake, the Raps couldn’t capitalize on his sideline ebullience, as they would go on to lose to the Bulls 109-107.
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Doug McDermott scored 29 points to top the Bulls (33-32), who were playing without Derrick Rose (groin strain) or Pau Gasol (swollen knee).
Kyle Lowry led Toronto (44-21) with 33 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, while DeMar DeRozan had 27 points, and Patrick Patterson chipped in with 13 off the bench.
The loss ended Toronto’s seven-game homestand at 5-2, and it was only the Raptors’ second loss at the Air Canada Centre in their last 17 outings.
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