Drake has taken over the NBA Finals, and while the Golden State Warriors may get some reprieve from his antics when the series shifts to Oakland, the Canadian rapper will be the center of attention once again on Sunday night for Game 2.
In an epic Game 1 performance that rivaled Pascal Siakam’s heroic Finals debut, Drake managed to troll Klay Thompson with a Hotline Bling move, list a piece of Steph Curry hair lint on eBay, and verbally spar with Draymond Green after the game, whom Drake referred to as “trash.”
There are many fans who believe Drake has crossed a line and shouldn’t have the type of access to the court that he enjoys, but Green, of all people, doesn’t think there’s any problem. When asked about Drake, Green made the case that the musician has earned the right to ruthlessly heckle the Warriors.
“I think so many people make a big deal out of it. It is what it is. He a fan, he talks. And it gets more attention because he’s Drake.
So many people have complained about it, like ‘you don’t let any other fan do that!’ Yeah, any other fan just not Drake, so they probably shouldn’t be able to do that. That’s just kind of how the cookie crumbles. He’s worked his ass off to be who he is, and when you do that… I think we all know, when you do that, you get more leash than others.
I think there’s so much talk, like ‘the NBA needs to,’ nah, they don’t. He worked to be who he is. You should get more leash. But I don’t mind it.”
Green even walked around Toronto on Friday wearing Drake’s OVO brand.
The reality is that Drake is a worldwide celebrity, he’s drawing extra eyeballs to the NBA Finals and benefitting the league as a whole, and he’s not fighting players or berating anyone in an inappropriate way. Drake is a sideshow, but the 2019 NBA Finals, as a spectacle, would be worse without him. And as Green mentions, a team that has won three NBA titles in the last four years really shouldn’t be worrying about what Drake is doing on the sideline.
