Raptors Legend Vince Carter Shares His Opinion on Drake's Feud With DeMar DeRozan

Former Toronto Raptors legend Vince Carter discusses his opinion on the feud between Drake and DeMar DeRozan that played out during his jersey retirement ceremony

Nov 17, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Recording artist Drake wears headphones to conduct an in-game media interview while watching the Toronto Raptors host the Boston Celtics at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Vince Carter didn’t let the nonsense between Drake and DeMar DeRozan faze him. Frankly, as Carter’s jersey went up into the rafters of Scotiabank Arena last week, the Toronto Raptors legend was unaware of anything that had transpired.

It wasn’t until after the ceremony that Carter began hearing about Drake’s comments on the television broadcast of Toronto’s game against the Sacramento Kings. Drake had said he’d take down a banner of DeRozan if the Raptors ever decided to retire his No. 10 and called DeRozan a “goof” on the TSN broadcast. The comments and DeRozan’s response overshadowed what had otherwise been a night to honor Carter’s career with the Raptors.

“I understand Drake's side of it, but I understand the other side of it,” Carter said on FanDuel’s “Run it Back” show as he tried to diplomatically toe the line between DeRozan and Drake. “It's an emotional situation.”

The feud goes back to this past summer when DeRozan appeared in the music video for “Not Like Us” alongside his hometown friend Kendrick Lamar. The song is essentially an attack on Drake with lyrics that make multiple allegations about Drake and include a verse suggesting Toronto didn’t deserve DeRozan.

Former Raptors guard Lou Williams previously called Drake’s comments “selfish” and reiterated on the FanDuel show that he didn’t appreciate Drake taking away the spotlight from Carter.

“You felt like you got your flowers in that building, but online, social media wise, that was the conversation,” Williams told Carter. “I wanted it to remain about you that night.”

Carter tried to stay out of the squabble, acknowledging he appreciated that Drake showed up at the ceremony while also noting Drake likely would have sided with his hometown had the situation been reversed. While Drake and DeRozan had been friends dating back to DeRozan’s time in Toronto, DeRozan and Lamar have known each other since their childhood in Compton, California.

If one thing is certain, Carter said, it would take some serious climbing skills to actually tear down a banner from the rafters of the arena as Drake had said he would.

“We were sitting there watching that jersey go up up up up,” Carter joked. “You got to be fearless to get up there.”

Drake was also seen insulting DeRozan following Sacramento's loss to Toronto. The dispute led to Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé wearing a shirt with the lyrics "they not like us" while he sat court-side during Toronto's road loss to the Kings this past week.