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Giannis Antetokounmpo, a Milwaukee Bucks star and favorite to win N.B.A's Most Valuable Player Award, was heading to her team's bench in the fourth quarter of the thrilling final of the Eastern Conference against the Raptors in Toronto.
And there was rapper Drake, sitting at his usual seat in the yard, dressed in what we could charitably describe as a purple cloak, and sending a continuous stream of inimitable discussions to Antetokounmpo while he was there. happening. Antetokounmpo maliciously tried not to show any reaction, but his lower jaw was prominent.
It's a sure bet that he heard the taunts of the most famous fan of the Raptors.
TNT analyst Reggie Miller certainly did.
"Drake, that's Spike 2.0," he said while Antetokounmpo was heading towards the bench, referring to director Spike Lee, famous for taunting his opponents when the Knicks played significant games in the 20th century.
Miller would know it. As a member of the Indiana Pacers, he has regularly exchanged discussions with Lee. In the final phase of the Eastern Conference in 1994, Miller turned to Lee and put his hands around his neck to signify a choking in a match lost by the Knicks following a dam late from Miller.
Twenty-five years later, there was Drake, making fun of Antetokounmpo when he committed a foul during the second overtime. Drake, his expressionless face, greeted the Greek star with his hand, as if he were a royal monarch.
The Raptors won 118-112, much to Drake's delight. Tuesday night, they had the chance to tie the series to two games each. And Drake had another chance to do what he does pretty well: irritate the Bucks, usually unstoppable.
I know that it annoys a lot N.B.A. observers. He has for a moment, since he's been appointed on Raptors' global ambassador in 2013. The complex named Drake last year as "the most annoying fan of celebrities". But, man, I like to watch him troll N.B.A. players. I wish each team had a Drake. His efforts in this round may be in vain: the Bucks are really very good.
But I really messed up in the last round when Drake started swinging with arms extended like airplane wings in a decisive victory in the fifth game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Joel Embiid, a professional troll himself, felt compelled to tell Drake that the 76ers would be coming back to Toronto for a match 7. Embiid was right! Did the Sixers beat a little stronger in Game 6 in part because of Drake? I want to think so. Did Embiid look in the mirror and say, "I can not let Drake have the last word on me"? May be.
That's how strange the Drake-at-N.B.A.-games phenomenon has become: last year, the league told the Raptors to get it alleviate his antics. He almost quarreled with Kendrick Perkins, then a reserve center for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yes, the N.B.A. recently had a terrible history of fans and players arguing – but what time to be alive when Drake can have that kind of reaction.
Drake, in many ways, represents the new N.B.A. This is a different type of superfan – what Lee is for the Knicks, or what Billy Crystal and Jack Nicholson are for the Los Angeles franchises. And that does not even include all the Boston Wahlbergs.
Drake is the dream personification of what the league is now – young (32), international and credible among the players. (Among his friends, let's mention LeBron James, Stephen Curry and many others.) Terrence Ross used it as an accessory to the dunk contest in 2014.)
But more than that, it's a troll who watches the troll league. Players are constantly fighting over social media. Curry laughed in the face of a referee late in a regular season game in which the Warriors were not happy with the calls. Damian Lillard defeated Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of this year's playoffs.
There are posturant dunks and inverted dribbles that almost break the ankle. The NBA, in 2019, deals with the property – the area and territory you can claim. Making Drake the face of the Raptors and, by extension, the league, is ideal and even unique to the N.B.A.
This kind of Drake fans are only really possible in professional basketball, where fans are close to the action and players do not wear masks, pads or helmets. Athletes are celebrities from around the world. Drake's mission to irritate everyone around him, especially the players, testifies to the willingness of accessible basketball to play, even if you need a few thousand dollars to buy the tickets he has.
When he is next to the courtroom, Drake turns, in his own way, into a man of every man, making a mockery of Antetokounmpo when he makes a mistake in a critical match.
To the credit of the Raptors, they kissed Drake wholeheartedly. Their training center, the OVO Sports Center, is named after one of its brands. Sometimes Drake conducts interviews after the match.
I hope Drake will have a 10 day contract at some point, just to get the circus up. Because that's what keeps N.B.A. fans watch and opens the door to new ones.
It is possible that the dunks, dribbling and 3s also help.
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