It looks like another "Welcome Toronto" game will be taking place tomorrow, March 9th, when the Eastern Conference leading Raptors welcome the Western Conference leading Houston Rockets to the Air Canada Centre.
Drake took to instagram moments ago to reveal a teaser image of the special edition "Drake Night" shirts that will be available to ticket holders for tomorrow night's game. The black long sleeved shirts feature logos of five different Toronto sports franchises in gold on the front, including the Raptors, Blue Jays, Maple Leafs and Toronto FC. The back of the shirt includes the gold OVO owl logo as well as the "Drake Night" date, March 9, 2018.
Friday night's showdown against the Rockets will mark the Raptors' fourth "Welcome Toronto" game of the season, in which the Raptors will wear their new OVO-edition uniforms and the home court will be transformed with black and gold paint. The Raptors enter the game with a 47-17 record, 2.5 games up on the Boston Celtics. Houston, meanwhile, heads up North with a 17-game winning streak and an NBA-best 51-13 record.
Earlier this season, the Raptors announced six "Welcome Toronto" home games, as well as plans to donate $1 million to refurbish local community basketball courts and an additional $2 million to Canada Basketball.
According to the press release, the Raptors and OVO have pledged $1 million over the next three years to refurbish and refresh local community basketball courts. For each of the next three years, four local community courts will be selected for a capital investment with the first four court locations announced later this month.
"As this team and Toronto continues to grow, we have seen how much we can do together," Drake said. "Welcome Toronto is about celebrating our team and our city, but also working together to give back to the community and creating a place where the youth of our city can come together to play."
"These same courts could also potentially shape the next generation of Canadian basketball superstars."
Other "Welcome Toronto" games remaining this season include March 23 against the Brooklyn Nets and April 6 against the Indiana Pacers.