Hip-hop superstar Drake welcomed Raptors rookie Gradey Dick to the team and city after Toronto selected the 19-year-old as the 13th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.
Speaking with reporter Taylor Rooks in Bleacher Report, Dick mentioned that the Grammy-award-winning rapper messaged him on social media after being drafted.
“Welcome home.”@gradey_dick reveals what @Drake said to him in the DMs 🤣🦉
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 11, 2023
(via @TaylorRooks) pic.twitter.com/2wWclHtWeP
"Welcome home," the musician said, and Dick thanked him for the warm welcome.
Drake, one of the world's best-selling music artists, has been a global ambassador for the team since 2013, and he has spent countless times watching Raptors games from the Scotiabank Arena sidelines for the past decade.
He famously had his own customized championship ring and featured heavily during the parade and celebrations when the Raptors won the NBA title in 2019.
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Gradey Dick looks to boost Raptors' rebuild
The Raptors are coming off a disappointing season, finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference and losing in the play-in tournament to the Chicago Bulls after leading by 19 points in the third quarter. The team fired head coach Nick Nurse, who mentored them to the 2019 NBA championship.
Dick hopes to reach the same heights as that of a select number of talented players who were also picked as the 13th overall, namely Karl Malone in 1985, Kobe Bryant in 1996, Zach LaVine in 2014, Devin Booker in 2015, Donovan Mitchell in 2017 and Tyler Herro in 2019.
The Raptors hired Serbian Darko Rajaković as their new head coach. He has served as an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies for the past three seasons.
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