If you were a 29-year-old multi-millionaire who loved watching basketball, you'd probably be a lot like Drake. Not only is the superstar rapper a "global ambassador" for his hometown Toronto Raptors, Drake attends games courtside all around the league on a consistent basis. And for the home team, that's almost always a very good thing.
By our count, Drake has sat courtside at seven Raptors games this year, starting off slow but doubling the total in the past couple of weeks as he finishes up his forthcoming album Views from the 6 in Toronto. Drake's been to another seven games on the West Coast, as well. In the past, Complex Canada discovered that the Raptors lost more games when he was in attendance. We're happy to report that trend has changed.
Here's a complete history of Drake and the home teams he roots for losing or (mostly) winning games that he attends courtside. Let me get big shoutouts to Eric Koreen, who started the #DrakeOrNoDrake hashtag; Doug Smith, who carried it on in his absence; and Mark Sandritter, who helped compile the various games. It's possible one or two courtside appearances by Drizzy were missed, so feel free to pass those moments along.
The Raptors with and without Drake
| RAPTORS ... | ... with Drake | ... without Drake |
| Record | 5-2 | 21-5 |
| Points scored | 105.5 | 103.4 |
| Points against | 98.7 | 95.5 |
Other games Drake has attended this year
| DATE | GAME | HOME TEAM RESULT |
| Nov. 7 | Clippers vs. Rockets | L |
| Nov. 9 | Kings vs. Spurs | L |
| Dec. 15 | Kings vs. Rockets | W |
| Dec. 16 | Warriors vs. Suns | W |
| Dec. 25 | Warriors vs. Cavaliers | W |
| Jan. 7 | Pepperdine vs. Pacific | W |
| Jan. 25 | Warriors vs. Spurs | W |
| Feb. 12 | Team Canada vs. Team USA | W |
Although his non-Raptor games started off on a bad note, Drake sitting courtside has worked out for the home teams ever since (helped by several Warriors games being mixed in there, as Golden State has yet to lose at home regardless of who's in attendance). He even got Pepperdine University to win. The Feb. 12 game was the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, where he coached Team Canada to a victory!
Drake attending In-N-Out after a Warriors game
After sitting courtside, Drake went to In-N-Out, which is an automatic win*. We're going to chalk this up to another victory for Drake.
(*Gotta skip the trash fries and go with a shake instead, though.)
Being a good son
When you bring your mom to a game courtside, that's a win. Can't forget family!
Courtside dance moves
Automatic loss. See above.
* * *
We've established that Drake sitting courtside at a basketball game usually results in good things for the home team. With all these times seeing the Grammy award winner so close to the court, a team might be tempted to ask him to suit up for a few minutes!