After what he could think about 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 have been typically 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—nonetheless, their dynamic seemingly shifted final 12 months, throughout Drake’s extremely publicized feud with Kendrick Lamar.
The strain grew to become palpable when LeBron was noticed publicly rapping and sharing lyrics from Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss monitor, “Not Like Us.” James was even noticed having fun with himself at Kendrick Lamar’s “The Pop Out: Ken & Associates” live performance on Juneteenth 2024, the place “Not Like Us” was a featured anthem. This obvious public assist for his rival didn’t go unnoticed by Drake.
Drake seemingly started taking lyrical photographs at James within the aftermath. In January 2025, a monitor surfaced known 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 a substitute 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 just lately, Drake addressed the frenemies fallout on “What Did I Miss?” On the brand new single, he rapped strains 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 Middle Stage
Now, Drake has made his stance on his relationship with LeBron even clearer with a really everlasting determination: 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 big change to his left arm. The unique jersey tattoo of LeBron James had been changed with a brand new one in all Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder jersey.
The selection of Gilgeous-Alexander because the substitute is extremely important. He, like Drake, is a Toronto native. He’s additionally coming off an unbelievable 2024-25 NBA season, through 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 Dangerous Bunny live performance in Puerto Rico just lately, hours after Drake’s newest diss. However, Drake’s determination confirms that the one-time bromance has certainly fractured.