Kings owner Vivek Ranadive had a message for Drake after the rapper threw a verbal jab at Sacramento’s star DeMar DeRozan.

The Kings played the Toronto Raptors twice in the span of four days, with the two teams splitting the season series at one game apiece. However, the two teams are headed in vastly different directions, with the Kings looking to make a splash in the playoffs while the Raptors are playing for a high pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

When the Kings visited the Raptors in Toronto on Nov. 2 – which also happened to be the night Vince Carter’s jersey was retired by the franchise – Drake was on hand to watch the proceedings. During the broadcast, Drake, real name Aubrey Graham, was asked if DeRozan would get his jersey retired for his contributions as a longtime Raptor.

Drake, in turn, replied with vitriol to his former friend. “If you ever put a DeRozan banner up, I’ll go up there and pull it down myself, that’s the answer to your question,” the rapper said. “Shout out to Kyle [Lowry].” The rapper also was spotted calling DeRozan a —– during the game.

After that particular game, which the Kings lost 131-128, DeRozan was asked for his thoughts on Drake’s response to having his jersey pulled down by the musician. The 35-year-old made sure to explain there was no love lost between himself and Drake, especially after DeRozan – a Compton native – sided with Kendrick Lamar during the two rappers’ exchange over the summer.

“He’s going to have a long way to climb to take it down. So tell him good luck,” DeRozan said before ending his postgame press conference.

Vivek Ranadive had a pointed message for Drake after the rapper threw a verbal jab at Sacramento Kings star DeMar DeRozan

Vivek Ranadive had a pointed message for Drake after the rapper threw a verbal jab at Sacramento Kings star DeMar DeRozan ( 

Image:

X/ @RTNBA)

When the Kings and Raptors faced off against one another four days later, this time in Sacramento, it was DeRozan’s side that took home the win, 122-107. With the Kings playing at home, Ranadive, the owner of the team, wore a long-sleeved shirt with a message pointed directly at Drake: “They not like us.”

Ranadive’s shirt is in reference to Lamar’s hit diss track ‘Not Like Us,’ which ended the rap beef between Lamar, another Compton native, and Drake. Additionally, DeRozan was featured in the music video for ‘Not Like Us’ and was also brought on stage during Lamar’s “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” concert in Inglewood.

In the song, Lamar referenced how Drake and Toronto, as a whole, underutilized DeRozan when he played for the Raptors and was glad the basketball star was back in the United States instead of languishing in Canada. “I’m glad DeRoz’ came home, y’all didn’t deserve him neither,” Lamar rapped, with his next bar referencing Serena Williams, who Drake reportedly had a relationship with and dissed in his 2022 track ‘Middle of the Ocean.’

Lamar played ‘Not Like Us’ five times during the concert, with DeRozan and fellow Los Angeles native Russell Westbrook being brought onto the stage to cap off the night. It was also reported that LeBron James was in attendance, who Lamar also referenced in another one of his diss tracks: ‘Meet the Grahams.’

However, it was ‘Not Like Us’ that proved to be the killing blow of the rap beef. After the track was released, Drake admitted defeat and silently deleted all the diss tracks he released from his social media accounts.

Meanwhile, ‘Not Like Us’ has amassed over 170 million views on YouTube and been streamed over 850 million times on Spotify. Considering Lamar’s status in rap and DeRozan’s relationship with the rapper, it appears Drake will be reminded of his rap beef loss constantly.