3 years before Bronny James' NBA draft declaration, Drake took out teammate Amari Bailey's mother for touching stadium date

The Canadian superstar, Drake, was spotted on a private date with Johanna Leia, the mother of Amari Bailey. Three years ago, before Bronny James declared for the NBA Draft, a touching event took place that connected two families in the world of basketball.

A Date to Remember, Amari Bailey Connection with Drake

The date took place at Dodgers Stadium, where Drake once arranged a private dinner with Johanna Leia and rented out the entire venue for their exclusive use. Drake and Johanna Leia, a TV personality and model, dated for several months before their relationship went public in July 2021.

This relationship helped create a special bond between Bailey and Drake. The rapper formed a close friendship with the talented new NBA prospect and once presented him with a personalized custom chain with the OVO logo as a gift.

The rapper also frequently attended his high school games while he was at Sierra Canyon. He notably attended the school's regional semifinal matchup against Etiwanda in June 2021.

Drake has been mentoring Johanna Leia's son, Bailey for several months on handling public attention, pressure, and offering advice about finances and life. Drake and Amari have spent some one-on-one time together, and all three, including Johanna Leia, have hung out at Drake's home.

Drake's mentorship extends to imparting his wisdom on how to successfully manage the attention and pressure that comes with a being a star player.

Drake suprises fans by bringing out Hornets Rookie Amari Bailey at Charlotte Concert. In a thrilling twist during his electrifying concert at the Spectrum Center, Drake, the Grammy-winning artist, walked out Charlotte Hornets' second-round draft pick, in front of thousands fans.

Amari Bailey's Milestones in his College Career

Amari Bailey, who plays as a guard for the Charlotte Hornets, had an impressive college career. Amari Bailey was born in New Orleans, raised in Chicago, and attended UCLA after a stellar career at Sierra Canyon in Los Angeles.

He was the winner of California’s Mr. Basketball in 2021, a McDonald’s All-American in 2022, and earned a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team nod for 2022-23. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, earning all-freshman honors in the Pac-12 Conference in his only season. He also bagged the gold medal in 2019's FIBA Americas U16 championship.

Bailey averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.7 steals across three NCAA tournament games. Overall, he connected on 49.5% of 9.1 shots per game in his season at UCLA. His combo-guard skills settled in nicely alongside fellow NBA prospects Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell.

The Aftermath of Drake Relationship with Johanna Leia

In October of the year 2021, it was reported that Drake and Johanna Leia went their separate ways.

Amari Bailey, meanwhile, moved on and played for a year at UCLA, where he had averages of 11.2 points on 49.5% shooting clip (38.9% from three-point range), 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals.

He helped the Bruins reach the Sweet 16 of the 2021 NCAA tournament, upping his averages to 16 points and six assists. After that, he declated for the NBA Draft.

Three years later, Bronny James, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James and a teammate of Amari Bailey, declared for the NBA draft after one season at Southern California that was shortened by his recovery from cardiac arrest.