Kings owner wears “Not Like Us” shirt

by Junna Base November 9, 2024

Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé made it clear where he stands on the ongoing hip-hop feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

The 67-year-old billionaire wore a “Not Like Us” jersey during the Kings’ 122-107 home win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. Not like us is the title of a Lamar-penned, Billboard-topping dissident track aimed at Canadian rap star Drake, who has been the Raptors’ global ambassador since 2013. He is trialing alongside Kings star and Compton native DeMar DeRozan , who scored 27 points on Wednesday night.

DeRozan was previously friends with Drake, as he was drafted by Toronto in 2009 and played for the Raptors for nine seasons. But the relationship soured when the six-time All-Star and Raptors all-time scoring leader teamed up with fellow Californian Lamar – and even made a cameo appearance in the “Not Like Us” music video. DeRozan was also one of several West Coast dignitaries who joined Lamar on stage when he performed the song during a concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California this summer.

Drake, who stared at DeRozan from his courtside seat during the Raptors’ 131-128 home win over the Kings last Saturday, said on TSN’s telecast that he would pull down a DeRozan banner if the franchise ever decided to be to withdraw jersey.

“He’s going to have a long road to advancement to make it,” said an unfazed DeRozan.

Drake’s banner comments drew criticism from several artists and athletes, including former Raptors star Lou Williams, who called Drake “selfish” given DeRozan’s contributions to the organization. It was notable that Williams publicly stood up for DeRozan, especially since Williams and Drake were once close and Williams was named in the popular Drake track 6 men.

“It goes way beyond his personal relationship with Drake, it goes way beyond his personal relationship with Kendrick Lamar,” Williams said on the show Run it back Podcast. “So when Drake says, ‘If you put up a banner and I personally take it down,’ it’s like, is it all about you or is it about the Toronto Raptors?”

This isn’t Ranadivé’s first collaboration with Drake. Back in 2019, the star Ranadivé offered his private jet so that players and coaches could travel to India on time and comfortably for the preparatory games. However, the “Air Drake” travel accommodations weren’t enough for the owner to avoid getting caught up in one of hip-hop’s biggest feuds in recent memory.

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