Drake bags $1,023,000 off betting against LeBron James’ Lakers in Game 3

Drake placed a $620,000 bet on the Minnesota Timberwolves beating LeBron James and the Lakers last night.

Drake bags $1,023,000 off betting against LeBron James’ Lakers in Game 3

Drake bets against LeBron James and Lakers in Game 3

When LeBron James and the Lakers ran out of steam against Minnesota last night in Minneapolis, they were also responsible for a gain of $403,000 for pop superstar Drake.

The Lakers started the game off on even footing with Minnesota. Despite not having Luka Doncic firing on all cylinders due to a stomach bug, they built an early lead. The Timberwolves chased them down in the second period, and the two teams then went back and forth exchanging leads. This kept happening till late in the fourth quarter, when the Timberwolves’ defense successfully stifled every Lakers player.

James scored 38 points and poured in three straight 3-pointers during the fourth quarter. However, the King had a costly turnover with around five minutes left during the period, giving a live ball to Jaden McDaniels. McDaniels converted that opportunity into a transition bucket before continuing to clamp Doncic. The Lakers were held to a 13-1 run during the final four minutes of the game.

Anthony Edwards had words of high praise for LeBron James, exclaiming that he made shots from Yucatan. Edwards also heaped praise on his swingman teammate for his 30-point game – the highest total on his team. Edwards himself had one of the most composed clutch performances of his career to lead Minnesota home. His emergence has been pivotal in the Wolves’ rally to contention late this season.

Edwards’ enterprise also helped Drake bag a sizeable amount of money. An enthusiastic sports gambler, the Canadian popstar has done numerous live streams with betting company Stake in the past few years. He placed a bet of $620,000 on Minnesota, banking on their length and size to beat the Lakers. Given the way he’s sneak-dissed James in the past few months, his bet could even have been a reflection of his relationship with King James.

Irrespective of his motives, the 37-year-old will be a happy man. His record of placing sports bets has been patchy at best. According to fans following the pop star, he has lost most of his sports bets over the past year. His gain of $403,000 on the initial bet would still be chump change for Drake, who averages 1 billion Spotify streams per month and generates this amount 10 times over through his catalog alone.

Drake and LeBron James’ beef cuts deep

“Drizzy” Drake has been one of the most vocal LeBron James supporters throughout his music career. The 13-time Billboard no. 1 hitmaker featured a 24-year-old James on his first viral music video “Forever”. Over the years, Drake has also name-dropped King James in various songs, including smash hit “Nonstop”. The Toronto-based rapper even has James tattooed on his arm – an immense sign of respect.

However, Drake has clearly been peeved by James lending public support to Kendrick Lamar over the past year. Their ties fell to pieces when James was spotted at Lamar’s Juneteenth concert at the Inglewood Forum last year, enjoying himself to diss tracks aimed at him. Drake has since released verses sneak dissing King James, and even altered the lyrics to “Nonstop” during his Australia tour to show this.

Notably, James hosted Drake on his media platform Uninterrupted after his previous rap beef loss against Pusha T in 2018. James gave Drake the opportunity to save his face and put up a brave exterior after Pusha T’s diss track was leaked. This enabled Drake to add “In My Feelings” as his third straight Billboard no. 1 hit of 2018, making him the only artist in charts history to hand himself back-to-back no. 1 hits on the charts.