Drake, Dubs’ Green exchange words after game
Draymond Green on his postgame courtside talk with Drake, “I wouldn’t consider that a scuffle.” (0:20)
TORONTO — Ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, NBA commissioner Adam Silver explained why the league had a discussion with rapper — and Toronto Raptors superfan — Drake about his conduct on the sideline during the Eastern Conference finals.
“The league office had conversations directly with Drake and his manager and I think we ended up in a good place,” Silver said before the game.
By the time Golden State‘s Draymond Green was leaving the court after Toronto’s 118-109 victory, there was no guarantee that Drake and Green were in a good place as well. Green had words for Drake, who then had a few of his own for Green in return.
Asked about the incident, Green said he wouldn’t agree with the characterization that it was a scuffle.
“It wasn’t really a scuffle because I didn’t hit him and he didn’t hit me, or I didn’t push him or he didn’t push me,” Green said. “We talked; we barked a little bit. But I wouldn’t necessarily consider it a scuffle. [It wasn’t] what I personally would consider a scuffle.”
Drake’s earlier antics gained attention when, during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, he grabbed Raptors coach Nick Nurse by the shoulders during the game. Drake’s approach was more reserved Thursday, when he arrived for Game 1 against the Warriors wearing Dell Curry’s No. 30 Raptors jersey. Curry, the father of Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry, finished his career playing for Toronto for three seasons from 1999 to 2002.
Silver explained during his annual news conference prior to the start of the league’s championship series his reasoning for meeting with Drake.
“I think in the case of Drake, as I’ve said before, I mean, we certainly appreciate his superfan status, and I know he’s beloved in the community of Toronto,” Silver said. “I think certainly we don’t want fans, friend or foe, contacting an NBA coach during a game. I think that even as Nick Nurse later said, I didn’t even realize it was Drake or hardly was aware that I was being touched, and I think those can lead to dangerous situations. You’re in the middle of coaching a game and you’re completely focused — you obviously don’t want somebody who is not on your team touching you.
“We understood that in this case, given Drake’s relationship to the team, it’s not the same as just any fan who happened to be courtside touching a coach. But I think that’s an absolute bright line that we have to draw. So that’s one example and I would also say that I think the issue for the league is that he has this ambassador-type role with the team. So he is viewed a little differently than any fan sitting there. But at the same time I think there are appropriate lines that shouldn’t be crossed in terms of how a competing team is addressed, or the officials, for that matter.”
Drake — who also serves as Toronto’s “global ambassador” — was in his customary courtside seat well before Thursday’s game, wearing the jersey Stephen Curry watched his father wear during his time with the Raptors.
Stephen Curry was in middle school during that time, and he lived in Toronto for about 18 months while his father played in the city. During a stoppage in play Thursday with 3 minutes, 5 seconds left in the first quarter, Drake and Curry had a friendly chat before Curry went back to Golden State’s bench.
The postgame conversation between Drake and Green didn’t appear nearly as friendly.