Drake really has a high school basketball jersey for EVERYONE 😂 pic.twitter.com/KujZpyvBcU
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) January 23, 2019
Drake has taken a lot of heat over the past few years for being a “fair-weather fan.” He addressed the accusation in the past by explaining to Complex he’s not a “team jumper” because he’s a bigger fan of the player than the team.
“Well, first of all, I’d like to say that despite what everyone on the Internet thinks, I do not team jump. In the past I’ve always supported the player and not the institution—unless we’re talking about the Kentucky Wildcats and the Toronto Raptors; I will never stray from them. But whether it comes to soccer or football or basketball, I have a lot of friends that play for a lot of teams. I’m not team jumping. I’m a supportive friend.”
The latest player he seems to be fond of is 16-year-old high school superstar Zion Williamson, who has been all over ESPN and the Internet over the past couple of months for his viral dunks and blocks. On Saturday, hours after a video of Zion almost hitting his shoulder on the backboard while blocking a shot went viral, Drake posted an Instagram pic of himself wearing Zion’s Spartanburg Day jersey while standing next to Mike Will Made It and Trouble Trouble.
Drake seen wearing 16 year old South Carolina basketball star Zion Williamson’s Spartanburg Day School Jersey pic.twitter.com/sSyyp5KhX9
— ment (@mentnelson) January 15, 2017
Zion credits this moment as the start of his fame.
“I think he posted like late at night. And I woke up in the morning to like crazy notifications on my phone. For a second I was like, ‘did something happen? Like something bad happen?’
It was just crazy at school, everybody asking me, ‘oh my god, like Drake, he wore your jersey!‘ He wore your jersey! And I’m like 16 at the time, and I’m not going to lie, I’m looking like, ‘yeah that’s my jersey.‘ Kinda lit.
I think that was kind of a start to everything. Because after that I went from No. 12 at Spartanburg Day School to Zion, and everybody knew me. It all happened so fast.”
And this is why Drake, along with the rest of the basketball world, is a fan of Zion…
POSTS FROM THE FUTURE
“Zion Williamson playing high school basketball. It’s like a White Lives Don’t Matter video. It is just wonderful.”
😂 @tedalexandro
📼 @Ballislife pic.twitter.com/cf78mayVvV— David Astramskas (@redapples) March 29, 2019
ESPN 30 for 30: Zion v Bryson pic.twitter.com/qCufaXU25f
— David Astramskas (@redapples) March 20, 2020