Inside The Thunder

Drake Sits Courtside in Oklahoma City as SGA Drops 39 Points

OVO is in the building.

Ben Creider

“It's rainin' money, Oklahoma City Thunder."

The Thunder’s 114-110 nail-biting loss versus the Rockets Wednesday evening set the table for a plethora of positive storylines. However, a special guest appearance from Drake made its way front-and-center for the Thunder's meeting.

Drake’s cameo at the Paycom Center came as a bit of a curveball to those in attendance, as both the Thunder and Rockets carry bottom five records league-wide. Though, his short-notice arrival posed no issue for the Thunder’s in-house audio crew, as the Toronto native’s music had been unleashed during stoppages in play.

Alongside Drake, Canadian blood ran rampant throughout the Paycom Center on Wednesday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a fellow Torontonian, repped the rapper’s roots to the tune of a season-high 39 points, finding the right note at the line with a 14-of-16 outing. To pair with SGA’s surge, Montreal-native Lu Dort played second-in-command as a scorer, dropping 19 points into Bricktown’s bucket.

Postgame, Gilgeous-Alexander admitted he didn't know the rapper would be in the building tonight, but spoke on their connection.

“We know each other, being from the same city. He loves hoops, I love music," said the Thunder star.

Admiration from both sides came about after the contest, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander locked his sights on Drake immediately following the horn -- dapping up the rapper at his courtside seat.

Drake’s appearance at the Paycom Center marks the rapper’s first arena appearance since February 28, 2012, at the then Chesapeake Energy Arena for the Club Paradise Tour. As for Thunder-game appearances, Wednesday marked his first Thunder game in over five years, last finding his seat on December 21, 2015, in an away match versus the Los Angeles Clippers. 

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Ben Creider
BEN CREIDER

Ben Creider has been covering the Oklahoma City Thunder since the 2020-21 season, beginning his work with an independent blog site. Along with SI Thunder, Creider also produces podcasts for The Basketball Podcast Network.

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