What do you get when you cross Drake with the Toronto Raptors? A win-win situation, as this article about the impact of sports marketing on team development—a course taught at York University—compellingly argues. Inviting the Toronto-born rapper to be the Raptors’ high profile ambassador back in 2013, the NBA players established a slam-dunk strategy for international recognition and success. The maneuver richly paid off when, six years later, the team cinched the basketball league championship. That winning allure spread across the entire city, making Toronto look hip and happening on the world stage. How it all happened makes for a fascinating read, highlighted by first-hand interviews with Raptors’ president Masai Ujiri, head coach Nick Nurse, and super fan and York alumnus James Gomez, who models the Raptors/Drake OVO sports apparel for the article’s eye-popping sequence of images.
