Michael Rubin jokes about ‘hatred’ for Drake using cruse against 76ers

Canadian rapper Drake is learning to manage his legendary sports “curse,” said billionaire 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin.

“Drake is known to be cursed. He’s probably the last remaining curse in sports. Whatever products he wears ultimately that team is jinxed,” Rubin told CNBC Thursday.

The Philadelphia 76ers were up against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. After a dramatic Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Raptors, which Drake were rooting for, won 92-90. He did not wear a Raptors jersey.

“So he actually wore Sixers shorts the last game. He was texting pictures of him in the shorts the entire game. So I obviously I have tremendous hatred toward him for that,” Rubin said, jokingly.

The Drake curse held in this week’s 2019 NBA Draft Lottery. The New York Knicks, which had a great chance of landing the top draft pick, ended up with the No. 3 pick. (The New Orleans Pelicans got the No. 1 pick.)

Rubin, also executive chairman of online sports apparel giant Fanatics, said he and Drake had a “back and forth the entire day that he was going to wear Knicks products.”

“I could show you pictures on my phone of Drake in Knicks products,” Rubin said on CNBC. “That’s how we knew they weren’t going to get the first pick because he’s learning to manage his curse.”

The Sixers, which got the 24th overall pick, still benefit from the Knicks losing out, Rubin said. “It’s a competitive league.”

Rubin appeared on “Squawk Box” to discuss the growth of Fanatics, which was ranked No. 25 on CNBC’s 2019 Disruptor 50 list.

WATCH: Why apparel company Fanatics ranked 25 on the Disruptor list