Last night in sports, the Toronto Raptors managed to stay alive in game four of the NBA Playoffs’ Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks and “team ambassador” Drake was, as always, there to see it and cheer his hometown team on from his courtside seats. Drake has always been a staunch supporter of the Raps — among other teams — and to show their appreciation for his outspoken, sideline-prowling, opponent-taunting ways, the team gave the rapper an unusual, expensive gift: A $769,000, custom, diamond-encrusted jacket.
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) May 22, 2019
While the Raptors social media team shared the moment with the world, The Star shared the details of the jacket’s bespoke (one-of-a-kind) construction. The fabric is made of jersey cloth sourced from a French mill by Toronto’s Garrison Bespoke and the diamonds are lab-grown. The clothier who designed the jacket, Michael Nguyen, told The Star, “This is truly a 1 of 1 piece. Both the jersey inside, which Drake himself helped design, and this very special piece of cloth. And the diamonds, of course.” The diamonds form Drake’s OVO owl logo on the right sleeve and the Raptors’ slashed basketball logo on the other.
Up Close: @drake’s OVO jacket presented to him by the @raptors tonight. pic.twitter.com/pPa1A7JVAy
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 22, 2019
Of course, now that the series is all tied-up at 2-2, the more superstitious members of the Raptors’ staff, players, and fanbase would probably like Drake to not wear the jacket for a while — at least, until after the season is over. After all, there’s always that pesky curse to think about. Thanks to Complex for sourcing The Star quotes.