Drake jabbed Kings star DeMar DeRozan over jersey retirement. Here’s how he responded
The Toronto Raptors pulled out all the stops while retiring Vince Carter’s No. 15 during halftime of their game Saturday against the Sacramento Kings.
But rapper Drake, who has an official title of “Global Ambassador” with the organization, grabbed headlines with an apparent jab at former Raptor and current Kings player DeMar DeRozan.
Drake said if DeRozan gets his No. 10 retired by the Raptors, he would “go up there and pull it down myself.”
It appeared to be an attempt to continue the feud with Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar after DeRozan appeared in Lamar’s music video for the Drake diss song, “Not Like Us” and went to Lamar’s pop-out concert in June. DeRozan is from Compton and has said he considers Lamar like family.
DeRozan played his first nine seasons with the Raptors and played more games for the franchise than anyone else in its history. If DeRozan’s warm reception from fans Saturday was any indication, Drake taking down his retired jersey from the rafters at Scotiabank Arena may not be the most popular choice.
DeRozan responded to Drake’s statement during his postgame press conference after Saturday’s game, which the Raptors won 131-128 in overtime as DeRozan led the Kings with 33 points.
“He’s going to have a long way to climb to take it down,” DeRozan said. “Tell him good luck.”
The relationship between Drake and DeRozan has appeared to sour after the two had a positive relationship during the latter’s time with the Raptors.
DeRozan told The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson over the summer: “Drake’s still my man, still my man, none of it changed. 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.”
