Drake has become a talking point in the Eastern Conference Finals. With Games 3 and 4 of the series being in Toronto, the Grammy Award-winning rapper has been seated courtside for a pair of Raptors wins over the Milwaukee Bucks. Drake has been animated on the sidelines during both games, and during Game 4, he was a little extra animated, including briefly rubbing Toronto coach Nick Nurse’s shoulders in the fourth quarter.
Because it’s Drake, who is both from the city and serves as the team’s global ambassador, it’s not a huge shock that he’s there and having a good time. Still, some people were rubbed the wrong way, including an executive with the agency that represents Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer.
In a conference call with the media on Wednesday, Budenholzer said he doesn’t want fans, “or whatever Drake is for the Raptors,” to cross boundaries and make their way onto the floor.
Drake was a hot topic of conversation on today’s conference call with Mike Budenholzer. He said, in part, “There’s certainly no place for fans — or whatever Drake is for the raptors — on the court. There’s boundaries and lines for a reason.”
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) May 22, 2019
The irony here is that Budenholzer is, ostensibly, a Drake fan — Jeff Teague told a story from their time with the Atlanta Hawks about unexpectedly running into his then-coach at a concert. But still, it’s not a surprise that Budenholzer would be a bit put off by this, because any opposing coach would probably be a bit miffed if an opposing fan celebrated a win by doing a lot of this stuff, even if they are as high-profile of a fan as Drake.
