Drake’s apparent animus toward DeMar DeRozan has not been received well by the court of the NBA’s public opinion.

With DeRozan and the Kings in Toronto to make their lone visit to Scotiabank Arena of the season Saturday, Drake was seated courtside to catch the game and the halftime jersey retirement ceremony for Vince Carter. During the fourth quarter, Drake used his time on the Raptors TV broadcast to take a shot at DeRozan.

“If you ever put a DeRozan banner up, I’ll go up there and pull it down myself,” Drake said to broadcasters Matt Devlin and Jack Armstrong.

The rapper’s statement seemingly came out of nowhere, as Toronto’s broadcast duo was attempting to ask if he’d like a Drake banner to hang from the rafters at Scotiabank Arena.

MORE: Why DeMar DeRozan fired back at Drake following banner comments

On Monday, one of DeRozan’s former Raptors teammates used his platform to give his opinion on Drake’s callout.

“If I’mma speak candidly, I thought that was selfish of Drake,” retired guard Lou Williams said during FanDuelTV’s “Run It Back.”

“I say that because Drake, as well as the country of Canada — the city of Toronto — they know what DeMar DeRozan has contributed to the culture up there and what he’s contributed to the Toronto Raptors and to that community,” Williams continued.

“It goes way bigger than his personal relationship with Drake, it goes way bigger than his personal relationship with Kendrick Lamar” @TeamLou23 on what Demar Derozan means to the city of Toronto, and Drake’s recent comments on a potential Derozan jersey retirement 👀 pic.twitter.com/4GcJw4fi8Z

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) November 4, 2024

Drake’s heel turn toward DeRozan is seemingly related to DeRozan’s involvement in the rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. DeRozan appeared in the music video for Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which was a rather pointed diss track toward Drake.

Williams’ decision to call Drake selfish stems from the belief that the rapper’s comments are a product of DeRozan’s relationship and the belief that he chose a side in the feud.

“It goes way bigger than his personal relationship with Drake, it goes way bigger than his personal relationship with Kendrick Lamar,” Williams added. “Is it just about you or is it about the Toronto Raptors?”

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Williams played alongside DeRozan during the 2014-15 season with the Raptors. While he spent just one season with Toronto, Williams’ production led to him winning Sixth Man of the Year for the first time in his career. He was the subject of Drake’s “6 Man,” a track on the 2015 mixtape “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.”

DeRozan was selected ninth overall by the Raptors in the 2009 NBA Draft. He quickly rose to prominence as a fan favorite in Toronto at the same time that Drake, a Toronto native, was rising to prominence as a global star in the music realm.

During DeRozan’s Raptors tenure, he and Drake did a skit with Will Ferrell and shared the cover of SLAM Magazine with Kyle Lowry among many other moments. After DeRozan was traded to the Spurs in 2018, Drake penned an Instagram farewell in which he called DeRozan his brother.

In addition to appearing in the “Not Like Us” music video, DeRozan joined Lamar on stage during his “Pop Out” concert at the Kia Forum, where he performed the diss track five consecutive times.

With Williams now chiming in on the offhand comments, Drake could publicly walk back the fiery words he had for DeRozan.