Klay Thompson won’t be worrying about the “Drake Curse” during the upcoming NBA Finals.
The Golden State Warriors player said on Wednesday that he won’t be listening to the rapper’s songs leading up to the NBA Finals, which kick off on Thursday night. The Warriors are going up against Drake’s beloved hometown team, the Toronto Raptors.
When asked at a press conference if he’d skip a Drake song if one came up on his playlist, Thompson, 29, replied, “If it’s a bad song, I’ll skip it. But if it’s one of his hits, I’ll play it.”
However, Thompson went on to say it’s nothing personal between himself and the rapper.
“I’ve been a Drake fan since I was in high school. He’s a great artist,” Thompson added. “Do I like him as a Raptors fan? No. But I like him as a musician. He’s extremely talented.”
“But I will definitely skip his song if I don’t like it,” he said. “If it’s one of his soft, R&B songs, I’mma skip it ’cause I’m in ‘kill mode’ right now trying to get these four games,” Klay said during a press conference. “So, I’ll skip ‘Hotline Bling’ or anything along that line.”
The matchup will be the Warriors’ fifth consecutive year at the Finals, while it’s the Raptors’ first time — they made it as far as the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016.
This year will mark the first time since 2015 that the Warriors will go against a team other than the Cleveland Cavaliers for the championship.
Drake’s super fandom for the Raptors has been causing a stir leading up to the Finals.
During their series against the Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer called the rapper out for crossing boundaries after Drake gave Nick Nurse, the Toronto coach, a mid-game shoulder rub.
“I see it in some timeouts, but I don’t know of any person that’s attending the game that isn’t a participant in the game a coach — I’m sorry, a player or a coach that has access to the court,” Budenholzer, 49, said of the rapper’s behavior in a press conference on Wednesday, May 22, when the teams were tied in their series, 2-2.
“There’s certainly no place for fans and, you know, whatever it is exactly that Drake is for the Toronto Raptors,” he added. “You know, to be on the court, there’s boundaries and lines for a reason, and like I said, the league is usually pretty good at being on top of stuff like that.”
Drake subsequently responded on social media with a photo of himself on the court and three emojis — “????♂️” — suggesting the rapper thinks his detractors were “salty” following his team’s win.
A rep for Drake did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment at the time.
Despite the on-court drama, Thompson might be smart for avoiding listening to Drake songs during the Finals.
Drake has a reputation for players or teams losing after taking photos or hanging out with the rapper. An Italian soccer club even banned its players from posing with Drake until their season was over.
The NBA Finals kick off on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
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