Drake made his first official public appearance since the peak of his rambunctious decade-plus-long beef with Kendrick Lamar at a WNBA announcement.
On May 23, the WNBA announced it was expanding to Toronto, home to its 14th team in the league. The ceremony included special guests like former Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry, Raptors president Masai Ujiri, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canadian billionaire businessman Larry Tanenbaum, and Drake.
Word to the 6ix 🇨🇦
Drake, Kyle Lowry, and Masai Ujiri are in the building to celebrate the Toronto expansion team! pic.twitter.com/U0ouEoHPkb
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 23, 2024
“Today is a game-changing day not only for women’s basketball but also for sports in Canada,” Tanenbaum said. “This franchise will be Canada’s team, and we are so excited to unite the country and inspire pride and passion in fans from coast to coast.”
The announcement comes weeks after the league announced the name of its next expansion team, the Gold State Valkyries, who are set to begin playing in 2025. The Toronto team will begin playing in 2026.
Drake has publicly advocated for a WNBA team coming to Toronto for years now, as he famously referenced former league star Liz Cambage in Travis Scott’s 2018 megahit “SICKO MODE.” The rap superstar has also worn a WNBA hoodie before and has shown his support for women’s basketball throughout his career.
After releasing “THE HEART PART 6,” his latest diss response to Kendrick Lamar, this appears to be Drake’s first confirmed public appearance. Blogger Akademiks posted a short clip of Drake on vacation after the diss track, but fans commented that the clip was old.
Drake has been the Raptors’ official global ambassador since 2013. The franchise has hosted “Drake Nights” and has even released an official OVO-inspired-themed jersey.
The WNBA continues to grow in popularity, as well, thanks to the likes of A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and a stacked rookie class that includes Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. According to Ben Stevens, three games in this season’s first week brought in over a million viewers alone when the league hadn’t had a single game get over a million viewers from 2009-23. Canada has grown with basketball, producing WNBA players like Kia Nurse, Laeticia Amihere, and Aaliyah Edwards.
The Seattle Storm and Los Angeles Sparks faced each other in Edmonton, Alberta, on May 4 in front of 16,655 fans.
