The Toronto Raptors gained a valuable ally in Toronto native Drake. The rapper is present at many of the team's games, and has even been named as the franchise's "ambassador." Drake has used this position to represent both his city and team, and forge friendships with many NBA players. This has boosted the international profile of the Canadian NBA team, and given them a popular edge that many teams lack. However, it appears the relationship is a two-way street. Following the widely reported beef between rappers Meek Mill and Drake, originally over the issue of ghostwriting in hip-hop, the Toronto Raptors are no longer allowed to play Mill's music in their locker room.
Complex spoke with Toronto Raptors players Patrick Patterson and James Johnson about their recent trip to England, their performance against the Orlando Magic, and eventually, what music the team played in the locker room during their warm-up periods.
Inevitably, due to Drake's involvement with the organization, the conversation turned to Meek Mill. When asked if his music was banned in the Raptor's locker room, Patterson replied, "Oh yeah, Meek Mill has been banned for a long time. No one plays Meek Mill."
Whether this is out of respect for their team ambassador, or the result of a direct request is unknown.
Patterson also spoke on Drake's ability to attract fans to the franchise. "We all know that there are a lot of Drake fans across the world and there might not be too many Raptors fans from Toronto that converted from Drake, but it might happen elsewhere," Patterson said. "Hopefully he continues to improve and get better and more people in the UK might get behind it."
"Yeah, I agree," Johnson added. "Jay Z did the same with the Brooklyn Nets but Drake is such a mogul that it definitely boosted the Raptors and more kids are now probably playing 2K16 with the Raptors because of him!"
