Rapper, singer, actor and producer Drake has shown his support for the WNBA by wearing the iconic orange hoodie on Instagram.In the Instagram story, Drake is shown in a room, clutching headphones and wearing the orange WNBA hoodie. The photo has been shared widely on social media, including by the WNBA Twitter account and espnW.Some social media users are delighted with the post, but it has also sparked a debate on whether images of male celebrities wearing WNBA merchandise should be shared.Sports writer Britni de la Cretaz wrote: “I do not care about Drake wearing a WNBA hoodie or a MNBA player wearing one or which male athlete showed up to a W game, the legitimacy of the league does not depend on men tossing crumbs of validation at it.”

Others have disagreed with De La Cretaz, with one user posting: “It doesn’t but exposure matters… and we’re not getting the support because nobody is wearing WNBA merch, coming to games etc. they don't even have WNBA balls for sale in the stores”.

The bright orange hoodie with the WNBA’s white silhouette logo printed on it was first launched in 2019 by the league’s head of content and influencer strategy Eb Jones.

Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson boosted the popularity of the hoodie when she wore it court-side in August 2019, but the piece of clothing really took off when it was donned by basketball legend Kobe Bryant a few months later.

Five-time NBA champion Bryant wore the hoodie while attending a match with his daughter Gianna between Dallas Mavericks and former club LA Lakers. Sales rocketed again when both Kobe and Gianna died in a helicopter crash in January 2020, with the hoodie seen as a symbol of the icon’s support for women’s basketball.

The hoodie is now the most best-selling WNBA item of all time, and has been worn by NBA star LeBron James and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka. Drake, one of the world’s most successful music artists, is just the latest to wear the orange of the WNBA.

It is not the first time the Canadian has shown he is a fan of women’s basketball. In 2014, he wore a t-shirt emblazoned with the name and number of Skylar Diggins, then of Tulsa Shock and now playing for Phoenix Mercury.