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Drake loves jerseys: From Skylar Diggins to LeBron, here are his top 6 looks
It’s almost like he’s trying to bring back the 2000s’ jersey wave in hip-hop style
I swear sports and music are so synonymous / ‘Cause we want to be them, and they want to be us
– Drake, 2010’s “Thank Me Now”
In a November 2017 interview, Drake revealed that he’s been collecting Hermès Birkin handbags. The highly coveted totes, which are worth anywhere from $12,000 to $379,261, are easily one of fashion’s most luxurious status symbols. His plan? To one day give them to the “woman I end up with.” Yet, until that day, Drake has also been filling up closets with his own personal obsession. The artist known as the 6ix God owns a divinely massive collection of jerseys — from international soccer kits to NBA throwbacks, MLB button-ups and NHL sweaters. Let’s quickly revisit some of the best ones he’s broken out over the years:
In the 2013 music video for DJ Khaled’s track “No New Friends,” Drake donned a No. 22 Damon Stoudamire retro Toronto Raptors jersey (which is one of the best throwbacks of all time.) In 2014, he posed at the Versace Mansion alongside Neymar Jr. while hoisting the Brazilian soccer star’s No. 11 home Barcelona kit. Later that year, at a show in Washington state during the Drake vs. Lil Wayne tour, he wore two different Marcus Mariota No. 8 Oregon jerseys, during the now-Tennessee Titans quarterback’s Heisman Trophy-winning campaign.
On a stop in Iowa during his Summer Sixteen tour, he wore a blue No. 25 basketball jersey with “Drake” stitched across the chest, although it wasn’t a custom piece. He was actually repping the men’s basketball team at Drake University, which is located in Des Moines, Iowa. This year, Drake arrived at the Raptors’ opener to the NBA playoffs in a white, green and gold Humboldt Broncos jersey, honoring the 16 members of the Canadian junior hockey team who died in a fatal bus crash in April.
It’s almost like he’s trying to bring back the early- to mid-2000s jersey wave in hip-hop — only his are fitted, not baggy like the MCs wore them back then. Before the ongoing Aubrey & The Three Amigos tour, Drake broke the internet when he teased both a Nike x “October’s Very Own (OVO)” soccer kit and basketball jersey. That’s right, he has two of his own jerseys, though neither piece has been released for retail by the global sportswear brand. On the tour, however, lucky fans have been selected to take home the basketball jersey.
Whenever Drake hits a stage, shoots a music video or posts on Instagram, it’s very likely he’ll be wearing a jersey. These are some of the best he’s worn, starting at The ESPYS in 2014 and ending at his stop in Washington, D.C., last week on the Aubrey & The Three Amigos tour.
July 2014
Skylar Diggins Notre Dame jersey
Host Drake (left) and Skylar Diggins speak onstage at the 2014 ESPYS at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on July 16, 2014, in Los Angeles. Allen Berezovsky/WireImage
What’s the best way to shoot your shot at a WNBA player? Wear her college jersey. That’s exactly what Drake did in 2014, when he hosted ESPN’s annual awards show, The ESPYS. During an onstage skit that allowed him to spit some game at Skylar Diggins, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft, Drake wore a green version of the jersey Diggins wore at the University of Notre Dame, where she played from 2009 to 2013. Clearly, he took a page out of the book of his mentor, Lil Wayne, who wore a white version of Diggins’ college jersey in 2011 at one of his shows in Indiana.
August 2016
Eastern Florida State College jersey
One year ago today Drake sported an Eastern Florida State College jersey during a concert pic.twitter.com/hUyUbbnaq6
— EFSC Titans Sports (@efscTitans) August 28, 2017
When it comes to jerseys, one thing’s for certain: Drake always puts on for the broskis. And he especially did so in Tampa, Florida, during the Summer Sixteen tour. Before the show, his public relations team reached out to the Eastern Florida State College men’s basketball program in hope of getting a jersey similar to the one worn by Ahmed Ali, then a freshman point guard from Toronto. Ali met the rapper after he dropped a monstrous 103 points in a single high school game in their hometown. So stitched on the Eastern Florida jersey that Drake appeared onstage wearing was the No. 103 in tribute to his lil’ homie, Ali. The school even posted a story about the moment in the news section on its website. That’s how much Drake’s wardrobe choice meant to the college.
September 2016
Kevin Durant Warriors jersey
Drake rocking that Kevin Durant Warriors jersey. ⛽️🅰🆖 pic.twitter.com/zZnmou0OWD
— Basketball Forever (@Bballforeverfb) September 14, 2016
Drake didn’t miss with the lineup of NBA jerseys he came out rocking on the Summer Sixteen Tour: Michael Jordan, Julius Erving, Kobe Bryant, Devin Booker and even Derek Fisher as a way to not so subtly throw shade at Matt Barnes over Rihanna. But the most important one of that tour? The No. 35 Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors jersey in white. Don’t forget that Drake shouted-out Durant on his Views track “Weston Road Flows” — A lot of people just hit me up when my name is mentioned / Shout-out to KD, we related, we get the same attention / It’s rainin’ money, Oklahoma City Thunder / The most successful rapper 35 and under. But about two months later, Durant left the Thunder to sign with the Warriors. So while performing at Golden State’s Oracle Arena, Drake couldn’t help but support the team’s newest superstar.
January 2017
Zion Williamson Spartanburg Day High School jersey
How did Drake get his hands on a No. 12 red Zion Williamson Spartanburg Day High School jersey? Who knows? Regardless, he added it to his collection and casually flexed in it on Instagram as the ultimate co-sign to the massive 6-foot-7-inch, 285-pound five-star basketball recruit (and dunking machine) from South Carolina. “When your favorite rapper wears your jersey,” Williamson told USA Today Sports, “the feeling is sensational.” The 18-year-old is now a freshman at Duke. You know what that means? His No. 1 Blue Devils jersey is already in the mail and on its way to Drake’s crib in Calabasas, California.
July
DeMarcus Cousins LeFlore High School jersey
Drake wearing a Boogie Cousins' LeFlore Rattlers high school jersey in the 'In My Feelings' video: https://t.co/Orf4hIqYXl pic.twitter.com/cWtE7UFTSH
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) August 3, 2018
Florida A&M? Nah, fam. Drake loves historically black colleges and universities, but this isn’t a FAMU jersey, even though the colors and mascot, Rattlers, are the same. In the music video for his viral hit “In My Feelings,” the No. 1 song in the country for 10 straight weeks and counting, Drake wore a No. 15 home white DeMarcus Cousins jersey, inspired by the one the four-time All-Star wore at LeFlore Magnet High School in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama. Pretty sure Drake and Boogie are the only two people in the universe who own this jersey.
September
John Wall Word of God Christian Academy jersey
Drake performs at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., as part of his Aubrey & The Three Amigos tour. His latest album, Scorpion, features three No. 1 singles. Kyle Gustafson for The Washington Post/Getty Images
On his tour’s second and final night in D.C. last week, Drake paid homage to Washington Wizards point guard John Wall by taking the stage in a replica version of the five-time NBA All-Star’s No. 11 home white jersey from his days at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina. “@champagnepapi with the dance moves with my WORD OF GOD high school jersey on …,” Wall posted on Instagram after the show. “BOSS to BOSS I salute you !!!! RESPECT …”
We second that salute to the jersey king Aubrey Drake Graham for always bringing the heat.
Honorable mentions
August 2015
Toronto Raptors alternate
Drake performs during the OVO Fest 2015 at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on Aug. 3, 2015, in Toronto. George Pimentel/Getty Images
Remember when Drake debuted the Toronto Raptors’ newest alternate for the 2015-16 season, a black jersey with gold and white trim, onstage at OVO Fest?
January
LeBron James St. Vincent-St. Mary High School jersey
How about the time we caught him on Instagram “hooping in a game-worn” No. 23 LeBron James St. Vincent-St. Mary High School jersey? Only Drake, man. He must have the plug.