Mavericks fans fear notorious ‘Drake curse’ as rapper bets big on NBA Finals

DALLAS Mavericks fans are fearing the worst – after Drake bet on the team to win this year’s NBA Finals.

The Canadian rapper staked a whopping $500,000 on the Mavs to beat the Boston Celtics in the seven-game series.

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Drake is well-known for his big-money bets on major sporting events.

Unfortunately for the Mavericks, he also has a pretty poor record of success.

Such is the five-time Grammy winner’s lack of betting nous that some fans believe in a Drake Curse.

The 37-year-old revealed he had placed the half-a-million-dollar wager on Wednesday.

He has also put $500,000 on the Edmonton Oilers to beat the Florida Panthers in this year’s Stanley Cup.

“Dallas cause I’m a Texan,” Drake captioned his betting slip on Instagram.

“Oilers are self-explanatory,” he continued, adding, “Picks are in.”

“Welp, Mavs fans…looks like you’re also going to be fighting the Drake curse in the NBA finals. Godspeed,” wrote one fan on X.

“Drake what have you done,” complained another.

“I want the Mavs to win but they aren’t the outright favorites, and Drake has placed his gambling curse on them,” said a third.

“Drake curse has been lifted after the Chiefs won,” countered a fourth.

The curse originates back to 2013, when the rapper took on a Global Ambassador role for the Toronto Raptors, per Yahoo Sports.

Toronto suffered heartbreak for five seasons before seemingly breaking the curse in 2019 by winning the NBA title.

Earlier this year, Drake wagered $700,000 on Sean Strickland, only for the UFC fighter to lose to Dricus Du Plessis.

Jake Paul also blamed Drake for his split-decision loss to Tommy Fury in February 2023 after the rapper bet $1.2 million on the Youtuber to win.

What is the Drake curse?

The Canadian rapper has been seen as a jinx by some sporting fans for over a decade.

Drake became an ambassador for the Toronto Raptors in 2013, only for the team to endure years of bad luck before eventually winning a championship in 2019.

The curse has also linked to his involvement in the Kentucky college basketball program since 2010.

For years, just being pictured with Drake before sporting events appeared to trigger the ‘curse’.

UFC champion Conor McGregor posed with Drake before his UFC loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.

And soccer team AS Roma even banned their players from having photos with the star a year later after numerous Champions League teams suffered defeats.

In recent years, Drake has put big money wagers on sporting events and has been blamed for “cursing” them.

Boxer Jake Paul blamed Drake for his split-decision loss to Tommy Fury in February 2023 after the rapper bet $1.2 million on the Youtuber to win.

 “This is Drake’s fault! Drake bro, why did you do this to me?” he joked after the fight.

Drake has also lost $1m bets on Argentina to win the World Cup against France in regulation, and Tyson Fury to beat Oleksandr Usyk last month.

In a rare success, the rapper picked the winner of the Kansas City Chiefs vs San Francisco 49ers in February.

Drake bagged over $2m after the Chiefs dramatic 25-22 overtime win.

Drake has also lost huge wagers on Argentina to beat France in regulation at the 2022 World Cup, and Tyson Fury to see off Oleksandr Usyk in last month’s boxing match in Riyadh.

However, there may be hope for the Mavericks after Drake’s luck changed at Super Bowl LVII.

The high roller staked $1.15m on the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the San Francisco 49ers in Vegas.

Drake’s punt came in after the Chiefs dramatic overtime win, netting the rapper a cool total payout of $2.3 million.

The Mavericks go into the NBA Finals as slight underdogs as the Celtics look to end a wait of 16 years for a title.

Tip-off in Game 1 of the seven-game series is tonight at 8.30 pm ET.