The NBA fined the Toronto Raptors $25,000 for comments that rapper and team ambassador Drake made at a recent concert about Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant that were deemed as tampering, ESPN.com reported Monday.
According to the report, Drake made what the NBA considered to be a public pitch to Durant, who was in attendance at the Toronto concert. The league considered Drake’s comments a violation of its anti-tampering rules.
The Raptors hired Drake as the team’s global ambassador in September 2013.
“I just want to show one of my brothers something,” Drake said to the crowd. “You know, my brother Kevin Durant was kind enough to come to the show tonight and watch us. I just want him to see what would happen if he came to play in Toronto. Let him know what would happen.”
Durant, the NBA’s MVP last season, received an ovation and the crowd started a “KD” chant.
Durant is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent after the 2015-16 season. The Washington Wizards, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams reportedly positioning themselves to have enough salary-cap space to land him.