The Kendrick Lamar vs Drake feud washed over the basketball world last year with some players openly choosing a side and others keeping the answers to themselves. But when it came to LeBron James, Drake’s friend reportedly since 2009, the display was a little different. The Canadian rapper has been going to Lakers games for years now, but things seemingly shifted last NBA season. And this is how the world is confirming Bron’s break up with Drake:

• • The possible origin: Back in June 2024, James was seen singing and dancing to Lamar’s Drake diss track “Not Like Us” as he attended Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert in LA.
  • The retaliation: Without saying a word, Drake sent a loud message to Bron as he unfollowed the 40-year-old on Instagram in October 2024.
  • The 40th Birthday: Bron’s last birthday was truly special. But he stepped up the game when he rapped to Lamar’s “man at the garden.” 
  • Reaction to the Super Bowl Halftime performance: Lamar headlined the event by performing the diss track at the Caesars Superdome but on the internet, Bron was all hyped-up as he openly confessed “He gone kill that s–t!!!!”
  • Drake’s first attack: In January, Drake called out his friends in his “Fighting Irish” freestyle– “Just know the s–t is personal to us and wasn’t just business / Analyzing behavioral patterns is somewhat suspicious.”
  • Drake’s second attack: In February, during Anita Max Wynn Tour in Australia, the Canadian rapper switched the lyrics from his 2018 album Scorpion from “How I go from 6 to 23 like I’m LeBron,” to “How I go from 6 to 23 but not LeBron, man.”
  • A prelude to the final chapter?: While there’s not been much noise to this drama for some time now, Drake released “What Did I Miss?” last week, a reflective track where he questions and confronts betrayal and shifting loyalties. He even featured James in the lyrics: “Last time I looked to my right, you n—– was standing beside me…” and “I saw bro in the Pop Out with them but been d—— gang since ‘Headlines.’”

Although James has not responded to any speculation directly, his actions kind of hint that in the Kendrick Lamar-Drake feud, he has chosen the consensus winner. But this story is far from over because Drake added another chapter to it all, changing part of the history that bonded him to Bron at another level.

A Lakers fan recently tweeted some photos of Drake during a concert. However, they specifically focused on his left triceps. Interestingly, back in 2018, tattoo artist Inal Bersekov inked LeBron James on the rapper’s arm. It was a photo from the NBA star’s old High School days at St. Vincent-St. Mary wearing the historic ‘Irish’ jersey. The same that LBJ wore on the legendary Sports Illustrated cover, where he was dubbed ‘The Chosen One.’ However, the recent photos of the rapper show his not-so-silent support for Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The seemingly new ink has SGA’s No. 2 Thunder jersey, showing how his loyalties have also changed while also giving a shout-out to SGA. The tweet also mentions, “Drake covered up LeBron James tattoo with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.” However, the change in stance is not only from Drake. In fact, even LeBron has found other artists to jam with.

Recently, the 4x NBA champion tweeted from the Airport, “¡Benito! Estoy en el aeropuerto de Los Ángeles ahora mismo, ¡voy a verte! Me enteré de lo que tienes planeado para mañana por la noche. 👀. ¡Bienvenida! 🔥🔥🔥🫡.”

A tweet in perfect Spanish roughly translated to: “Benito! I’m at the Los Angeles airport right now, coming to see you! I heard about what you have planned for tomorrow night. 👀. Welcome! 🔥🔥🔥🫡.” In fan videos, we could clearly see him vibing on Bad Bunny’s track and not worrying about the Lakers or even Drake. But the fire? It’s burning wild.

More on the Drake-LeBron James saga

Bron was not the only one at the Pop Out concert, but that was not the only instance of him showing love to KDot. Back in June last year, King James added a story, quoting a Clipse x Kendrick bar that read, “Therapy taught me how to open up / It also showed me I don’t give a f—.” Once again, it showed which musical artist was on his mind, and it certainly wasn’t Drake. That’s why there was another subliminal diss from him.

The freestyle is called “Fighting Irish,” and it was released earlier in January this year. The name of the track is what the fans speculated was a direct nod to LeBron James and his high school team. It’s the same team and the jersey that Drake previously had inked, which he apparently replaced with SGA’s one.

A few bars from the track explained what the Canadian rapper felt about Bron choosing Kendrick Lamar. “Remember we tradin’ watches? / I gave you that Arabic dial, you gave me a numbered edition,” and “Figured we was always gon’ be close, like ovens and kitchens/ I was sadly mistaken, the loyalty wasn’t a given.”

Drake feels hurt as LeBron James sided with Lamar at a time when the two musical geniuses were beefing. From live-streaming and dropping angry bars, the Canadian rapper has shared subliminal disses towards the Lakers superstar. Whether this bromance gets repaired or not is what the fans want to know. But a changed tattoo seemingly doesn’t hint at a reunion.