Drake is dripping in diamonds and Toronto Raptors swag after he was gifted a one-of-a-kind sports jacket covered in handset diamonds during Tuesday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Toronto tailor Garrison Bespoke designed and gifted the jacket to the Toronto-born rapper with 235 diamonds hand-embroidered into the shape of the OVO (October’s Very Own) owl.
WATCH BELOW: Drake’s courtside antics draw major attention at Raptors’ home games vs. Bucks
Raptors president Masai Ujiri presented the jacket to Drake on Tuesday before Game Four between the Raptors and the Bucks but Garrison Bespoke owner and founder Michael Nguyen made it clear that Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) did not pay for the jacket.
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The jacket was actually “gifted to the team and to Drake by Garrison and was not paid for by MLSE,” according to Nguyen.
“It’s about $747,000, at today’s exchange rate,” Nguyen said of the price of the gift. The owl eyes are each 1.2 carats.
“The Raptors asked for a surprise to be made. We are huge fans and wanted to celebrate by creating a memorable gift with our collaboration partners Diamond Foundry and Dormeiul,” Garrison Bespoke marketing chief David Tran said to Huffpost. “Ever since the original Drake commission, it’s been an annual tradition and is always presented at the game.”
After the news of the gifted jacket and the price spread online, many people took to Twitter to complain about the MLSE spending money on Drake.
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The jacket has a custom lining which is the black and gold OVO Raptors jersey that Drake helped to design.
Drake has been drawing a lot of attention to himself during the NBA playoffs.
Earlier this month, he wore a Breaker High sweatshirt which many fans of the show pointed out.
While not one of his more demonstrable antics, cameras caught Drake using a lint roller on his pants during Game 2 of Toronto’s first-round series with Brooklyn in the 2013-14 playoffs. The clip went viral, and the team gave away Drake-branded lint rollers before Game 5. One of the lint rollers was famously sold on eBay for over $55,000 in 2014.
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Most recently, many people were distracted by Drake’s courtside antics during the Raptors game on Tuesday night.
Throughout the game, Drake frequently left his courtside seat to roam up and down the Toronto sideline, heckling the players on the Bucks, touching the Raptors players and even gave coach Nick Nurse a playful shoulder massage.
He was at his animated best, on his feet for most of the night, waving his arms in the air to get the crowd going. And he windmilled an arm after Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a free throw.
Even the New York Times covered the Drake display, calling him “Spike Lee 2.0.”
A senior executive from Octagon Basketball Europe, Georgios Dimitropoulos, which represents Antetokounmpo tweeted (and deleted) a “hypothetical” scenario that matched the same interaction between his client and Drake.
Drake kept taunting Antetokounmpo during Tuesday night’s game and once Antetokounmpo missed his shot at the free-throw line, the rapper made sure the NBA player knew he was laughing.
In response to the taunting from the Toronto superstar, Dimitropoulos referenced “VIP seats, right next to the band.”
“Imagine a gig & an athlete on VIP seats, right next to the band, stands up on the stage just to show off during the entire game, knowing cameras are on him, occasionally even massaging the singer. Security&him both allow it. Never seen anything as disrespectful as this before…”
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The Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer has now spoken out, saying there’s “certainly no place” for the Toronto rapper’s antics.
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Drake took to social media to seemingly respond to the criticism that he’s received for his courtside antics.
He posted a photo of him courtside during Game Four and used some emojis to caption the photo, including a salt shaker.
He also posted a screenshot of a comment and posted it to his Instagram Story.
“Sports media needs to accept the simple rule the Miami Hurricanes signed into law back on the 80s: If you don’t want the opposing team to celebrate and dance, prevent them from scoring, winning, or achieving their objective. Get over it and keep it moving,” the comment read.
The Raptors head back to Milwaukee for Game 5 on Thursday on the heels of two straight wins at home.
The series returns to Toronto for Game 6 on Saturday.
— With files from the Associated Press
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