NBA Finals or Celebrity Bloopers?

The NBA finals are in full gear and the Raptors lead the series 3-1 over the Warriors, but most people probably wouldn’t know it if they scanned through sports pages because lately it seems celebrity camera hogs and moronic billionaire investors are stealing the story line. Drake, better known as Aubrey by his Canadian mom, has been doing everything to make sure this improbable raptor run is all about him and not the fact that Kawhi Leonard has spent the last month making a bold statement that he might be the best player on the planet. Night after night he has taken over the game and has been literally unstoppable during the closing minutes. He rebounds, is an awesome defender and is an old school NBA scorer who takes exactly what the defense gives him. He is the rare guy in today’s NBA who realizes that even though he is beyond the three-point line, if the defense is going to back off, he can take two dribbles and hit a foul line jumper over and over again. However, after every basket, block or steal we are forced to immediately see the rapper Drake sitting courtside.

Drake AKA “Aubrey” was a teenage Disney channel type actor for many years and lived in an affluent neighborhood with his mom in Toronto before deciding to get his street creds by rapping. Good for him and I’m sure his experience growing up on the tough inner-city streets of Toronto influenced his movies and tattoo selections. On the other hand, seeing him verbally confront other players, high fiving after every timeout and rubbing the shoulders of the raptors’ head coach has made this all about him. Enough already! NBA commissioner Adam Silver needs to put an end to this before an angry Draymond Green shoves him and starts a street brawl on the court. Interestingly, this very well might be the first street fight Aubrey, eh Drake, has ever taken part in. As if this circus scene wasn’t bad enough, the Warriors and their Silicon Valley faithful decided they cannot be out done and got into the fray themselves.

In Game three, raptors guard Kyle Lowry chased a loose ball into the first row and warrior fans were kind enough to help him get up. However, a billionaire middle aged man named Mark Stevens could not just let it go. Instead he reached two seats over and pushed Lowry and then cursed at him several times telling him to “Go F—K yourself”. Classy behavior by a guy who also happens to be a part owner of the Warriors and has an estimated net worth of about three billion dollars. The Warriors and NBA were quick to suspend him from attending all games but how do you allow this idiot to stay on as a partner for an NBA team? What did Lowry do that was so egregious that he deserves to be pushed at and cursed? More importantly, the obvious question has to be asked: In what universe would a 59-year-old pudgy white guy walk up to a 33-year-old, 6”1 black man with huge biceps and push him and start yelling at him to get the bleep out of here? I have a very hard time imagining a place on planet earth or in Oakland where this would happen in a bar or restaurant. This is starting to remind me of some of my Italian friends and families who saw all those mafia and Rocky movies and think they suddenly have superpowers and toughness. Once again instead of talking about the games we are talking about courtside distractions. These finals have the potential to be legendary if KD and Thompson come back from injury or if Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard decide to keep dueling on the offensive end. It is time for the NBA to step in and tell the courtside fans to get off our screens and back into your seats or we will remove you for the good of the game.

-BSB