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Drake introduces the Raptors, comes up with some ridiculous nicknames
Many NBA franchises boast famous fans, but few have formalized the connection as strenuously as the Toronto Raptors and musical artist Drake. The Toronto native has not been shy about his fandom and gladly took on the official title of "global ambassador" for the franchise prior to last season. The relationship has taken many forms, but the most noticeable has been the annual "Drake Night" for a home game at Air Canada Centre, a big old party during which Drake essentially takes over as many in-arena responsibilities as he can.
This season's Drake Night took place on Wednesday night vs. the Brooklyn Nets, and Aubrey Graham himself did the starting lineup intros for the second year in a row. He acquitted himself pretty well:
A lot of these nicknames are corny — the "baby-faced assassin"? — but there's enough cleverness to get Drake through. The comment about Dwane Casey as the best-dressed man in the league is not inaccurate for coaches, and I'm impressed that he chose to underplay the intros instead of buying into the full-tilt insanity that drives most PA announcers. The whole thing is pitched somewhere between cool and nerdy. In other words, it was a classic Drake experience.
The Raptors did their ambassador proud, as well, dominating the fourth quarter 29-16 on their way to a 105-89 win. At 20-6, they are now a full game ahead of the Washington Wizards (due to having played two more games and winning both) on top of the East standings.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
