Drake is taking Kevin Durant's side in the NBA's ongoing sneaker wars.
The Toronto rapper stars alongside the Houston Rockets star in Nike's latest commercial promoting the KD 19, playing what might be the ultimate yes man as he hypes up Durant's newest signature sneaker while taking a playful jab at Anthony Edwards.
In the ad, Drake reprises his “Yes Man” role, unexpectedly popping out of a delivery package at Durant's house and immediately showering the two-time NBA champion with praise, even calling him "Pevin Purant" in honor of the new purple colorway of the KD 19. The skit takes a turn when Drake turns his attention to Edwards, whose adidas signature line has become one of the hottest shoes in basketball.
"Hey Ant Man, can you drop your purple shoes?" Drake jokes in the commercial. "Said four kids in Minnesota. Like, no one wants to see those; they want the KDs."
The commercial is the latest chapter in a sneaker rivalry that has quietly been brewing for years.
Durant and Edwards first traded shoe-related barbs in late 2023 after Edwards said he'd like to see Durant wear his debut adidas signature sneaker. Durant quickly shut down the idea, writing on social media that fans would never see him wearing the shoe.
Adidas' social media team fired back at the time before deleting the post, and the playful tension has continued ever since.
Earlier this year, another clip involving Durant made the rounds online after he questioned who actually wears adidas off the basketball court. The comments prompted a response from the brand’s footwear designer Lalal Enayah, who resurfaced an old message showing Durant praising James Harden's adidas sneakers.
Now Nike is leaning into the drama.
The KD 19 officially launched earlier this week and is arriving in "Orange Crush" and "Purple Stuff" colorways before an even more anticipated collaboration with Drake’s NOCTA label drops later this summer.
The partnership marks another collaboration between Drake and Nike, who have worked together extensively through the NOCTA line since 2020.
Edwards, on the other hand, has built much of his adidas marketing around trash talk. Earlier this season, comedian Katt Williams appeared in one of Edwards' commercials and roasted the signature sneakers of Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
