In a revealing tale from the past, Michael Rubin recounted being taunted by Drake during the Toronto Raptors’ victorious NBA journey in 2019. The former owner of the Philadelphia 76ers shared his amusing yet tense encounters with the musician during a conversation on Showtime’s “All the Smoke” podcast.
According to the entrepreneur and philanthropist, “My worst memory of Drake is in the middle of Game 7 of the playoffs, he sends me a picture of himself wearing Sixers shorts. He said, ‘I’m coming for you.’”
Rubin, who offloaded his 10 percent share in Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment — the holding company behind the Philadelphia 76ers — last October, recollected the ill-timing of the photo by claiming, “As soon as I saw him in Sixers shorts, I said, ‘We’re losing this f**king game.’ That jinx-ass muthaf**ker.”
Furthermore, Drake allegedly took his triumph to another level by calling the Fanatics CEO after the game. He recounted, “By the way, I’ve never seen someone FaceTime me more times, and me ignore him more than after that game. He had no chill. We had just lost [to Kawhi’s shot], and he FaceTimed every two seconds. I just never picked up. I just went home depressed.”
As per ESPN, Rubin’s exit from the NBA and NHL franchises resulted largely from Fanatics’ planned foray into sports betting and player partnerships. To date, the brand serves as one of the largest companies in licensed sports merchandise.
Ironically, Drake shouted out the former owner in his 2019 track “When to Say When” from Dark Lane Demo Tapes. The lyrics read, “I watched Michael Rubin win a million off a couple hands. I decide what to see next like it’s on demand.”
While Rubin might have felt the sting of the playoff loss, any hard feelings seemed ephemeral. In 2021, the pair were seen in the Bahamas with Meek Mill and Lil Baby, reportedly shooting a music video.
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