After what he might contemplate betrayal, Drake covers his LeBron tattoo of the NBA famous person’s highschool jersey. The brand new ink, that includes OKC Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, seems to sign a definitive shift in Drake’s relationship with LeBron James.
For years, the friendship between Drake and LeBron James appeared fairly shut. The rapper and the NBA legend had been usually seen collectively courtside, celebrating wins. The duo was so shut that Drake even famously had a tattoo of James in his highschool jersey on his left arm—nevertheless, their dynamic seemingly shifted final 12 months, throughout Drake’s extremely publicized feud with Kendrick Lamar.
The stress turned palpable when LeBron was noticed publicly rapping and sharing lyrics from Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss observe, “Not Like Us.” James was even noticed having fun with himself at Kendrick Lamar’s “The Pop Out: Ken & Pals” live performance on Juneteenth 2024, the place “Not Like Us” was a featured anthem. This obvious public help for his rival didn’t go unnoticed by Drake.
Drake seemingly started taking lyrical pictures at James within the aftermath. In January 2025, a observe surfaced referred to as “Combating Irish Freestyle” (a nod to LeBron’s highschool alma mater’s nickname). He additionally appeared to name out James and Sacramento Kings ahead DeMar DeRozan (who starred in Lamar’s “Not Like Us” music video) for being current at Lamar’s live performance.
A month later, in February, Drake additional fueled hypothesis when he famously modified the lyrics to his hit music “Nonstop” throughout a live performance in Perth, Australia. As an alternative of the unique “How I am going from six to 23 like I’m LeBron?” he pointedly rapped, “How I am going from six to 23 however not LeBron, man.”
Most not too long ago, Drake addressed the frenemies fallout on “What Did I Miss?” On the brand new single, he rapped traces like, “I noticed bro within the Pop Out with them however been d**ok using gang since ‘Headlines.’”
Drake Covers His LeBron Tattoo: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Takes Heart Stage
Now, Drake has made his stance on his relationship with LeBron even clearer with a really everlasting resolution: Drake covers his LeBron tattoo with new ink that includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Throughout his headlining efficiency on the three-day Twenty Years of Wi-fi competition in London, England, followers noticed a major change to his left arm. The unique jersey tattoo of LeBron James had been changed with a brand new one in every of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder jersey.
The selection of Gilgeous-Alexander because the alternative is extremely vital. He, like Drake, is a Toronto native. He’s additionally coming off an unbelievable 2024-25 NBA season, by which he led the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder to their first NBA championship, defeating the Indiana Pacers in seven video games. Gilgeous-Alexander was additionally topped each the 2024-25 NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP, averaging a league-high 32.7 factors, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists within the common season. His meteoric rise and Canadian roots make him a becoming new muse for Drake’s physique artwork. SGA was additionally featured in Drake’s “NOKIA” music video earlier this 12 months.
LeBron, for his half, has seemingly remained unbothered, having fun with himself at a Unhealthy Bunny live performance in Puerto Rico not too long ago, hours after Drake’s newest diss. Nonetheless, Drake’s resolution confirms that the one-time bromance has certainly fractured.
