After what he may consider betrayal, Drake covers his LeBron tattoo of the NBA superstar’s high school jersey. The new ink, featuring OKC Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, appears to signal a definitive shift in Drake’s relationship with LeBron James.
For years, the friendship between Drake and LeBron James seemed quite close. The rapper and the NBA legend were often seen together courtside, celebrating wins. The duo was so close that Drake even famously had a tattoo of James in his high school jersey on his left arm—however, their dynamic seemingly shifted last year, during Drake’s highly publicized feud with Kendrick Lamar.
The tension became palpable when LeBron was observed publicly rapping and sharing lyrics from Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss track, “Not Like Us.” James was even spotted enjoying himself at Kendrick Lamar’s “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” concert on Juneteenth 2024, where “Not Like Us” was a featured anthem. This apparent public support for his rival did not go unnoticed by Drake.
Drake seemingly began taking lyrical shots at James in the aftermath. In January 2025, a track surfaced called “Fighting Irish Freestyle” (a nod to LeBron’s high school alma mater’s nickname). He also appeared to call out James and Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan (who starred in Lamar’s “Not Like Us” music video) for being present at Lamar’s concert.
A month later, in February, Drake further fueled speculation when he famously changed the lyrics to his hit song “Nonstop” during a concert in Perth, Australia. Instead of the original “How I go from six to 23 like I’m LeBron?” he pointedly rapped, “How I go from six to 23 but not LeBron, man.”
Most recently, Drake addressed the frenemies fallout on “What Did I Miss?” On the new single, he rapped lines like, “I saw bro in the Pop Out with them but been d**k riding gang since ‘Headlines.’”
Drake Covers His LeBron Tattoo: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Takes Center Stage
Now, Drake has made his stance on his relationship with LeBron even clearer with a very permanent decision: Drake covers his LeBron tattoo with new ink featuring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. During his headlining performance at the three-day Twenty Years of Wireless festival in London, England, fans observed a significant change to his left arm. The original jersey tattoo of LeBron James had been replaced with a new one of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma City Thunder jersey.
The choice of Gilgeous-Alexander as the replacement is highly significant. He, like Drake, is a Toronto native. He is also coming off an incredible 2024-25 NBA season, in which he led the Oklahoma City Thunder to their first NBA championship, defeating the Indiana Pacers in seven games. Gilgeous-Alexander was also crowned both the 2024-25 NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP, averaging a league-high 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in the regular season. His meteoric rise and Canadian roots make him a fitting new muse for Drake’s body art. SGA was also featured in Drake’s “NOKIA” music video earlier this year.
LeBron, for his part, has seemingly remained unbothered, enjoying himself at a Bad Bunny concert in Puerto Rico recently, hours after Drake’s latest diss. Nevertheless, Drake’s decision confirms that the one-time bromance has indeed fractured.
