The Toronto Raptors had an emotional night, but that vibe wasn’t what Drake was only looking for when he came to Scotiabank Arena. After getting a shoutout from Vince Carter himself, all that the music artist came looking for was beef! The retired 22-season NBA veteran’s jersey was retired earlier, but that was not the only recent highlight from the Toronto night. Drake, the superstar that he is, had his own moments. Heckling DeMar DeRozan wasn’t his only claim to fame, not that he needs any more fame.

In attendance for the game was another Canadian musician, Jessie Reyez. She and Drake go way back. In 2020, she recorded Love In The Dark and followed it with a cover of Drake’s single Headlines, which was featured on his 2011 studio album Take Care.

As she was sitting in the arena watching the game, Drake was with the announcers at the time. The rapper has been a long-time fan of the Raptors. During the final seconds of the third quarter, however, Drake unexpectedly said, “Put the camera on Jessie Reyez.”

“She looks 20 million out of 10 tonight. Let’s get a camera shot of her. Forget these clowns. Look at that. Wowzerz. An absolute national treasure right there.” Mind you, a tightly contested game between the Kings and the Raptors was going on.

And requesting a shot of her during the final seconds, all the while taking a dig at the players, did not seem right. But Reyez appreciated this gesture. Posting the clip on her Instagram where Drake says the above-mentioned lines!

However, when observed closely with appropriate context, this whole chain of events between the rapper and the Kings star seems to be linked.

New lessons learned for DeMar DeRozan after K-Dot linkup

When DeMar DeRozan appeared in Kendrick Lamar’s music video, the media quickly turned their focus on him, sparking curiosity about any possible tension with Drake. Surprisingly, the star forward remained calm in his response. He said, “Drake’s still my man, still my man, none of it changed… At the end of the day, it’s music, entertainment. Two of the biggest rappers in the world went at it from a competitive standpoint and they battled it out.”

But we know how far the beef between Drake and K-Dot dragged out. You cannot feature in a rival’s diss track and expect everything to be cool between them, can you? Drake wanted smoke. He didn’t hold back in responding to DeRozan, stating, “If you ever put up a DeRozan banner, I’ll pull that thing down myself.”

The Canadian music artist further commented, “Unfortunately, we are playing this goof tonight, but it is what it is,” while referring to DeRoz, who recently joined Sacramento. But after yesterday’s game, the hooper might’ve realized, Drake is not his bud anymore.

Reporters once again asked for DeRozan’s reaction to the rapper’s bold comment on live TV, especially the part where Drake said he’d personally take down the banner if the Raptors ever raised it in DeMar’s honor.

He responded, “He gone have a long way to climb before he tears it down, I’ll tell you that.”