We have Drake and We are Keeping Him!


As the one NBA team outside the United States, the Raptors have plenty of disadvantages. The huge taxes don't help. The weather is always going to be an issue. The fact that 80% of the players like the idea of setting up base in their own country. The thought that the players see Toronto as a small market team despite having the 4th largest population in the league. Yeah, being successful is a challenge.

Enter Drake. He started off on Degrassi: The Next Generation. As a teen actor, he played the basketball star who went through a Jason Street transformation after being shot by a classmate. Typical of the show, he graduated and moved on. Not so typical was the direction he moved. Since his days on Degrassi, Drake has become one of the biggest Hip Hop artists on the planet. He has toured with Lil Wayne, dated Rihanna, battled Chris Brown, he even created the brand OVO. (Note the tattoo on Johnny football's wrist. Thanks Jay!)


Last September the Raptors gave Drake the title of Global Ambassador. Initially a lot of us were very doubtful of the concept. I admit I had myself asking what he could actually do for the team. But now I see it. While we are the one team outside the US, we are also the one team with a Hip-hop Superstar as our spokesman. A lot of the time it's not about what you have to say, instead it's about getting someone to listen in the first place. Now players hear us.

Years ago when the likes of Vince and Bosh left, it was partially because the city was lacking something. We were seen as a bit of a joke. We were desperate and everyone knew it. If you watched how the games were presented, it was more Wayne's World than ESPN. Announcers were stretching to make the team relevant. (After a rare win over the Bulls, Rod Black cried, "Who needs Michael Jordan when you have Mighty Mouse?") We needed a wing man to say, "Relax! This is a great city and players should want to be here. If they don't? Fuck em!" I believe both of them would have found it harder to leave with a guy like Drake showing them the beauty of the city.

Now the NBA is concerned. Not that they haven't wanted the Raptors to succeed, instead they are seeing an unfair advantage. A couple of weeks ago Drake was fined for recruiting Kevin Durant to Toronto.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECk4v7pSsZs

I doubt he will succeed with KD but players are going to start to consider us. Drake convinces icons to come and perform at the OVO. Why couldn't he convince a superstar or two to come North? Momentum is starting to mount with this franchise and he just adds to it. In the upcoming year the NBA will put some restrictions on what he can do in public, but the conversations will still take place. No one believes the big three just came together. It happened over phone calls and random meetings. If Drake shows up on your doorstep to pitch the Raptors, you are going to listen.

So sorry NBA, he is ours. We were weary when he took out the lint roller. We had some doubt when the players laughed about not wanting to join Drake's entourage for sushi after the game. But truth is, he helps to make us relevant. Don't believe me? See how you feel when KD puts us on his list of places to consider during his free agent tour. That's when shit gets real!