TORONTO, CANADA – Drake and J. Cole do plenty of hooping when they’re not in the studio and several Toronto Raptors players were asked to give their opinion on both of the rap deities’ basketball skills.
With Drizzy serving as an official ambassador for the franchise, some players might have been a little biased in siding with the 6 God even though a majority chose Cole on the court since he’s played basketball professionally in the past.
“He’s actually one of the artists that really knows how to play basketball,” said 2022 Rookie of the Year winner Scottie Barnes of the Dreamville boss.
Added star guard Fred Van Vleet: “[J. Cole] can play a little bit. You know what I mean? Not professionally, obviously. Drake is just old-man YMCA game. He just doesn’t move like a basketball player.
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“J. Cole moving super fluent so I’ma have to go with Cole,” guard Gary Trent Jr. said of picking Cole over Drizzy in a potential one-on-one game.
Although, when it comes to the booth, the majority of Raptors players are siding with the hometown hero in Drake.
“Drake’s low-key like the GOAT. Not low-key, [but] high-key. Whatever he drops is a banger,” Barnes continued.
Cole was busy throughout 2022 working out with professional hoopers and even played in a pair of professional leagues in Africa and Canada, with Drake playing a role in helping Cole earn a spot on the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Scarborough Shooting Stars.
Nicholas “Niko” Carino is a close friend of Drake’s who’s a co-founder of OVO. He’s also a part-owner of the Shooting Stars. Cole and Carino met up at Drake’s birthday party in 2021 and started to talk about a potential opportunity for Jermaine and the rest is history.
“You know, Dreamville and OVO are family,” Carino said. “Drake had a birthday party in L.A. last year. The conversation was, ‘I heard you have your team.’ It organically grew from there.”
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