TORONTO — One day after a verbal tussle with Drake at the NBA Finals, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was playing down the significance of his post-game encounter with the Toronto Raptors' global ambassador.
Cameras caught a heated exchange between the Toronto rapper, seated in his usual courtside location, and Green following the Raptors' 118-109 win on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena.
"He's a fan. He talks and it gets more attention because he's Drake," Green said on Friday. "So many people are complaining about it, like, 'You don't let any other fan do that.' Yeah, any other fan is just not Drake, so they probably shouldn't be able to do that. That's just kind of how the cookie crumbles."
The NBA made a call to the Raptors to talk about Drake's behaviour before the Finals.
Commissioner Adam Silver felt Drake went over the line in rubbing Raptors coach Nick Nurse's shoulders during an Eastern Conference final game, but also said that he appreciated the rapper's "super-fan status and I know he's beloved in the community of Toronto."
Green, meanwhile, wasn't about to fire back at Drake after the Game 1 incident.
"He's worked his ass off to be who he is," Green said. "I think we all know when you do that, you get more leash than others. I think there's so much talk and the NBA needs to — no, they don't. He worked to be who he is; you should get more leash. But I don't mind it. It's fun for me."
Drake wore a signed Dell Curry No. 30 Raptors shirt, in honour of the father of Golden State star Steph Curry, to Thursday's game.
He also wore a Nike wristband on his left bicep just above the elbow, apparently to cover up small tattoos dedicated to both Steph Curry and injured Warriors teammate Kevin Durant.
Drake's barbs continued after the game when he posted "Steph Curry hair lint for sale on my eBay right now!!! Username: DraymondShouldn'tWear23" A video showed what appears to be the rapper pulling a piece of lint from Curry's hair during a courtside exchange. Michael Jordan, of course, famously wore No. 23.
The Canadian Press
