Kobe Bryant Honored by Drake With New 'Toosie Slide' Music Video

Drake gave his fans a treat on Thursday night as he dropped a video for his new song 'Toosie [...]

By Brian Jones

Drake gave his fans a treat on Thursday night as he dropped a video for his new song "Toosie Slide" on YouTube. And one of the things that stood out in the video is Drake's tribute to late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26. In the early stages of the video, Drake is seen at his home, dancing past his trophies and swimming pools. On his desk, there are two Lakers jerseys: a No. 8 and No. 24, in honor of Bryant, who wore both numbers during his time in L.A.

This is not a big surprise for those who follow the Grammy-winning artist. Drake is a diehard NBA fan, and he's even a bigger fan of his hometown team, the Toronto Raptors, who are the defending NBA champions. Drake also has a home basketball court, and he has Bryant's numbers posted along the wall.

It's clear that Drake was a fan of Bryant despite not being a fan of the Lakers. That is the impact Bryant made on the NBA, as he was arguably one of the best to ever play the game, leading the Lakers to five NBA titles from 2000-2010. He also won the NBA MVP award in 2008 and he was an 18-time All-Star. In February, the city of Los Angeles held a memorial service for Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who also died with Bryant with seven other people, and NBA legend Michael Jordan was one of the few that spoke to the crowd about the impact Bryant made on his life.

"He used to call me, text, me, 11:30, 12:30, 2:30, 3:00 in the morning talking about post moves, footwork, and sometimes the triangle," Jordan added. At first, it was an aggravation. But then it turned into a certain passion. This kid had passion like you would never know. It's an amazing thing about passion. If you love something, if you have a strong passion for something, you would go to the extreme to try to get it.

Drake has released six studio albums since 2010, and each of them reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts. He's in the process of finishing his sixth album.

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