It’s safe to say Drake and DeMar DeRozan, once friends when the Sacramento Kings forward played for Drake’s hometown Toronto Raptors, are now, well, the opposite of friends. The Canadian rapper put that on clear and obvious display again Sunday, spiking a DeRozan Raptors jersey that was tossed to him while he was performing in Sydney, Australia.
The Kings, DeRozan’s current team, had plenty of fun with that reaction.
DeRozan is in his first year with the Kings. He started his career in Toronto and played nine seasons there, racking up four All-Star appearances. He’s the franchise’s all-time leader in several categories, including points and games, and he’s generally a beloved figure in the city.
However, “generally beloved” doesn’t apply to Drake’s view of DeRozan. A native of Compton, California, DeRozan sided with fellow hometown sensation Kendrick Lamar last summer during Lamar’s beef with Drake. DeRozan danced on stage alongside Lamar and even appeared in the music video for Lamar’s song “Not Like Us,” a diss track aimed at Drake that won five Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year.
Super Bowl 2025: Off-the-field winners and losers from the big game, from Kendrick Lamar to Pat Riley
Shanna McCarriston
And a week after those Grammy wins, Lamar performed the song during the Super Bowl halftime show, with a good number of the 65,000 in attendance singing along. One of the lyrics specifically mentions DeRozan returning to California: “I’m glad DeRoz’ came home. Y’all didn’t deserve him, neither.”
In November, Drake said if the Raptors retired DeRozan’s jersey, he’d pull it down himself. In his response, DeRozan sarcastically wished Drake luck.
