Toronto's Drake brings A-game to NBA Awards

Canadian rapper Champagne Papi, ahem, Drake brought his A-game as the host of the first televised NBA Awards.

But while he started with a swish ... and a couple of great roasts of Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan ...

He went to the bottom with a questionable joke about slavery.

But he regained his footing, throwing shade around the room full of the league's greatest stars.

First there were back-to-back shots at Golden State's Draymond Green and Cleveland's LeBron James.

Before moving on to TNT's halftime crew.

Which prompted this shot from Kenny Smith, a cryptic reference to whether Drake writes his own lyrics.

And an even sharper retort from the newest resident of Toronto's tony Bridle Path. After all, Drake is no stranger to fake people showing fake love to him.

But outside a later appearance from Nicki Minaj, the evening settled into a typical award show of awkward presentations and clumsy speeches.

We suspect Drizzy was happy with the night, though.