Drake watches the Toronto Raptors play the Philadelphia 76ers during NBA playoff action in Toronto, in May, 2019.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
The Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated the Toronto Raptors in Game 7 on Sunday, and took the opportunity to troll Drake while they were at it.
In the final minutes of the NBA playoff game in Cleveland, the Cavaliers’ DJ played Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us, a diss track aimed at Drake during their 2024 rap feud.
Then, after the buzzer, the Cavaliers’ social media team posted a fake “cross section scan” of an ice block – a direct parody of the mysterious ice structure Drake had planted in downtown Toronto two weeks earlier teasing his new album Iceman.
While Drake’s block promised a release date inside, Cleveland’s had a Cavs “W” at its centre. The graphic said, “Specimen status: removed,” while the former site was listed as “Dundas/Bond St.,” the intersection of Drake’s monolith.
Cleveland kept twisting the knife Monday, posting an animation of Cavaliers players orbiting the CN Tower on a golden ring. The caption read, “Turned the 6 upside down” – a reference to Drake’s 2016 track 9.
The Toronto rapper is the Raptors’ global ambassador, and he’s been teasing Iceman at recent games. Last month, his regular courtside seats at Scotiabank Arena were sealed in sculpted ice, turning his empty spot into a viral spectacle.
Iceman is set to drop on May 15.
Cleveland won 114-102 on Sunday, with Toronto missing starters Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley, who were out with injuries.
The Cavaliers carried the NBA’s highest payroll into the series and were heavy favourites to beat a young Raptors squad still emerging from a rebuild.