Giannis Antetokounmpo: MVP gets nod on Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’
By Dalton Sell
This summer has been unlike any other for Giannis Antetokounmpo after finally leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their first NBA title in 50 years.
As the reigning Finals MVP enjoys his first offseason as a championship, he has received some interesting shoutouts from some of the most iconic names in the music industry. First, it was on Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ album, where West reminded the world that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks recently became world champions. It would be hard to top that one, but the Greek Freak received yet another mention on Drake’s new album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ that gave it a try.
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Coming on the track, 7am on Bridle Path, Drake name-dropped No. 34 by saying, “could at least keep it a buck like Antetokounmpo.”
This is certainly not some deep lyricism from the Grammy Award winner, although he did create a nice double entendre in the line. “Keep it a buck” means being honest, and of course, Antetokounmpo signed a massive supermax extension to remain a Buck. Giannis also remained true to his word by delivering on his promise to deliver Milwaukee a championship.
Nice wordplay. While Drake was far from perfect with his pronunciation of Antetokounmpo, Kanye completely butchered the two-time MVP’s first name in his song. When it comes to the Giannis references on their new album releases, Drake wins this round in his ongoing bout with Kanye.
Given their past, it is certainly interesting to see Giannis Antetokounmpo and Drake getting along.
As everyone knows, Drake is a massive fan of the Toronto Raptors, and he was in attendance during the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals versus the Bucks. Not only would he sit courtside, but the artist was often plastered all over social media due to his sideline antics, dancing around, or even rubbing Raptors coach Nick Nurse’s shoulders to calm him down. At one point, Giannis got fed up and told Drake to “shut up,” to put it family-friendly. There was understandable frustration from Antetokounmpo in the series, and Drake’s shenanigan’s certainly did not help the cause.
Despite this back-and-forth, it seems like the two are willing to let bygones be bygones. Not only did Antetokounmpo get mentioned on the album, but it appears that the two have a collaboration with Nike – who they are both sponsored by – currently in the works with the album released to the public. The merchandise included a shirt that reads, “I Need a Freak,” which is obviously a nod to Antetokounmpo’s Greek Freak moniker. No release date has been set yet, but those will fly off the shelves from the moment they go on sale without question.
How many athletes can say that they got a shoutout from two of the biggest recording artists in the world all in the same week? Not many. No matter your thoughts on either album, it is great to see Antetokounmpo get his props from these two after his fantastic title-winning season. After being ridiculed for his failures over the past several years, it is nice to just sit back and enjoy the little things like this regarding Antetokounmpo for a change.
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While these might be the biggest, they will not be the last name-drops that Antetokounmpo gets in songs, and keep an eye out for those moving forward.