Drake bids heartfelt goodbye to Masai Ujiri after Raptors fire team president

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After the Raptors announced that Masai Ujiri has been relieved of his duties, the club’s most famous fan is paying tribute to the team’s former vice-chairman and president.

In a message shared with his 142 million Instagram followers, the Toronto rapper — who is the outfit’s Global Ambassador — bid a heartfelt goodbye to Ujiri, who replaced Bryan Colangelo in 2013.

“My mentor and my friend. The city will miss you,” Drake wrote alongside of an image of Ujiri Photoshopped over the Toronto skyline. “Thank (you) for a unforgettable 13 years.”

Under Ujiri’s leadership, the Raptors earned seven straight NBA postseason berths between the 2013-2014 and 2019-20 seasons.

Ujiri was also the chief architect of the team’s 2019 championship run, trading star player DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard and hiring coach Nick Nurse ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

The longtime executive was heading into the final year of a five-year deal he inked in 2021, hoping to return the Raptors to NBA relevance after three years of missed postseason play.

But after former franchise cornerstones like Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby were traded away only to find success with their new teams, not to mention Fred VanVleet (who left in free agency), Keith Pelley, the president and CEO of Raptors’ owners Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, said it was time for a front-office shakeup.

“Thirteen seasons is an extremely long time in a sports leadership role,” Pelley told reporters Friday. “Change is inevitable. What we really thought was with the current status of our team and the foundation that Masai has built, that this was the time to make the change.”

Pelley said the decision to part ways with Ujiri was made earlier this month, but he was allowed to stay on through to the end of the NBA Draft with the Raptors selecting Collin Murray-Boyles and Alijah Martin.

One of music’s biggest stars, Drake was a long-time fixture much like Ujiri after he was tapped by the team more than a decade ago to become its Global Ambassador to help drum up excitement for the Raptors across Canada and the U.S.

“I just really want excitement for this team,” Drake said back in 2013. “I want us to be one of the biggest teams in the league. I have a lot of friends in the NBA, but the opportunity to be a part of this NBA franchise at home has me more excited because it’s the team that represents where I’m from.”

At the time, Drake, who Ujiri once called “the King of Toronto,” said he “would love nothing more than to bring a championship” to the city.

“My goal is to add anything I can to this team,” he said.

Over the years, Drake has been a staple at home games where he is frequently seen from his courtside seats cheering on the team. His October’s Very Own brand is also a sponsor of the club’s training facility and its gold and black colour scheme and owl logo figure into some of the squad’s on-court uniforms.

Themed “Welcome Toronto” nights also occur throughout the season in which Drake’s logo appears on the court.

As part of the partnership, Drake and the team have donated over a million dollars to help refurbish local community basketball courts and have invested heavily in Canada Basketball to help grow the sport across the country.

“It’s nice to have the uniforms and the fancy court and the merchandise and stuff like that, but what was most important to me was just the call to action,” Drake said in 2018. “In this day and age, it’s really easy to go on social media and talk about things that we’d like to see change or things that we think are wrong, then there’s an opportunity, when you’re presented with one, to be able to do something about it.

“The biggest thing I’m most proud of with this partnership is the million dollars that we’re going to be giving to the city to redo these courts and, hopefully, to create an amazing atmosphere for anyone in that community to come out and either play casual basketball or potentially breed the next generation of Canadian basketball superstars, which goes to our other donation of $2 million to Canada Basketball who have produced incredible talent.”

With the stands closed on-and-off during the pandemic, Drake was one of the few hundred fans that was allowed in the Scotiabank Arena during parts of the 2021-22 season.

During one game, the Grammy winner tried to expand his role to include front office duties.

“Masai not feeling my trade deadline plan,” Drake joked sharing a photo of the two to his Instagram.

Pelley was asked about a rumoured rift between Ujiri and Edward Rogers, the executive chair of Rogers Communications, the majority owner of MLSE, but he said the decision to fire the popular exec was his alone.

“At the end of the day, this was my decision, supported by the board,” he told the Sun’s Steve Simmons.

On social media, Raptors fans sided with Drake as they blasted MLSE for dumping Ujiri. “Masai changed the entire franchise, brought us a championship, recruited great players and did some good trades. Good luck in finding another replacement of that calibre,” one critic swiped on Reddit.

Meanwhile, former Raptor Danny Green, who was acquired along with Leonard in the trade for DeRozan in 2018, called Ujiri “legendary in the whole country of Canada.”

After the Raptors finished with a 30-52 record last season, Ujiri was still promising Toronto’s return to the postseason and was upbeat as he looked ahead to next year.

Oftentimes, he repeated the mantra: “We will win again in Toronto.”

But if the team is able to do it, it won’t be with Ujiri at the helm.

mdaniell@postmedia.com