Drake and Reggie Miller will play ping-pong at All-Star Weekend
The NBA world will descend on Toronto next week, as the league takes a break from the regular season for the annual All-Star Weekend festivities — Friday’s Rising Stars Challenge, the Slam Dunk contest, Three-Point Contest and Skills Challenge on All-Star Saturday Night, and Sunday’s main event, the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.
There will also be about a million and a half loosely tethered and tangentially related events, parties, festivities, “brand activations” and other various happenings … including, apparently, a table-tennis throwdown between Hall of Famer/TNT color commentator Reggie Miller and Canadian national treasure/Toronto Raptors brand ambassador and occasional public-address announcer Drake.
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Working on my NBA All-Star plans and my peeps say @Drake is a master ping pong player, maybe he’s up for a match 😏🤔🙏🏿..
— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) February 4, 2016
Drake, of course, will be in attendance to coach Team Canada vs. Kevin Hart’s Team USA in Friday night’s All-Star Celebrity Game. (Though evidently not to perform at halftime on Sunday, because who needs one of the hottest performers of the moment in the city with which he’s become synonymous when you’ve got Sting?) And since he’s apparently not going to have “Views from the 6” wrapped up yet anyway, he’s cool with taking some time to get his Gump on:
Master is a bit of a stretch. But then again you have to stretch before everything works out. So yes Reginald @ReggieMillerTNT… its a go!
— Drizzy (@Drake) February 4, 2016
The ever-courteous and helpful Raptors offered their services in helping the event come together:
.@Drake @ReggieMillerTNT Let us know if you need any dancers, a mascot, or a slightly biased scorekeeper. 🏓
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 4, 2016
. I even have my own paddle!!! @Raptors @Drake @ReggieMillerTNT
— The Raptor (@the_raptor) February 5, 2016
Even if the only dinosaur in attendance is Reggie, it sounds like the Asylum-produced “Balls of Fury” reboot-style competition’s about to pop off:
So Ping Pong is on!! Last name Ever, first name Greatest.. See you in the 6 @Drake, have to go dust off my paddle my friend. Good luck..
— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) February 5, 2016
If this artist’s rendering is any indication, Drake might’ve been sandbagging a bit in downplaying his mastery of the table game:
@Drake @ReggieMillerTNT He doesn’t know pic.twitter.com/OoSdNnZzGM
— Henny (@thekidhenoo) February 4, 2016
The former Indiana Pacers star has just one wish for the encounter, which he shared during the Detroit Pistons’ Thursday night win over the New York Knicks on TNT — no matter the outcome, he doesn’t want to be the next man to draw Drizzy’s ire:
I’d suggest that Reggie might want to watch his back for forthcoming flames, but Meek’s got bigger stuff to worry about today than getting goofed on in the spirit of ping-pong promotion.
I’m sure Miller/Drake will be a titanic tilt for the ages and all, but I can’t help feeling like no matter which one wins, neither would have much of a shot of holding serve against the NBA’s most terrible table-tennis tyrant:
I don’t think anybody else in Toronto for All-Star Weekend wants those Daryl Morey problems.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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