Not even the GOAT debate has divided the NBA players as much as Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s beef. LeBron James chose his side by appearing at Kendrick’s The Pop Out concert, moving to the beats as Russell Westbrook danced beside him. That public display from someone who had been closely associated with Drake for years marked a visible shift, and thus, the long-standing friendship apparently came to an end. As the friendship ended, the beef grew, and it was on record once again.
On his 9th studio album, Iceman, one verse had every NBA fan and hip-hop head on the internet draw their attention to. Drake dissed LeBron James on ‘1AM in Albany” with the lyrics, “I shouldn’t even be shocked to see you in that arena, because you always made your career off of switching teams up. Please stop asking what’s going on with 23 and me, I’m a real n****, and he’s not, it’s in my DNA.” The 5x Grammy Winner never mentioned the Lakers star’s name. But the jersey number 23, the switching teams jab was clear evidence to whom he was referring. That’s how it’s been lately, with both men sending shots, sometimes subtle, sometimes direct.
Drake stopped following Bron after he showed up at the Pop Out concert in LA, despite their reported close friendship since 2009. In 2018, tattoo artist Inal Bersekov inked LeBron James on the rapper’s arm. It was the old High School days at St. Vincent-St. Mary, wearing the historic ‘Irish’ jersey, but last year, Drake replaced it with the fellow Canadian NBA star and MVP Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Following this, Bron continued supporting the apparent opps, which the rapper dislikes.
Which came on his famed 2014 track 0 to 100/The Catch Up. The Warriors star remained by Drake’s side even when Lamar’s Not Like Us was popping out.
Drake shouts out Steph Curry on ICEMAN:
“Back when they was askin bout where Davison was at, now everybody got a blue 30 on they back”
pic.twitter.com/MhB4LmrtNj
— Guru (@DrGuru_) May 15, 2026
Lamar’s Not Like Us erupted after Team USA’s semifinal win over Serbia at the 2024 Paris Olympics. James said he “loved it,” but Curry said, “Damn with this song, it’s not the only song in America.” Drake has Curry’s No. 30 tattooed with a halo, and their Toronto ties with Ayesha make it family. That’s why Steph has not switched sides, nor has his wife. Ayesha Curry even shared Drake’s post of “ICE MAN MAY 15” to her 7.6 million followers. The story even consisted of a shout-out message. “Whose watching?… we are. Whose watching?… we are! Congratulations.”
LeBron James remains silent as other NBA stars campaign for Drake
After the July drama, Bron appeared on Speedy Morman’s show in September and spoke candidly about his old friend. “Y’all cool? What’s the status there? Is this someone you always have love for?” Morman asked curiously. “Always, always wish him the best,” LeBron James admitted. “Obviously, different places right now, currently he’s doing his thing, I’m doing mine, but it’s always love for sure.” Despite having love for Drake, the 4x NBA champion has remained silent after the Iceman’s release. While he remains silent, the other NBA stars have also aligned with the Canadian star.
Former teammate of LeBron, Kyrie Irving, was on his Twitch stream and celebrated the new drop. “He transcended so many haters that were telling him he couldn’t amount to sh*t and he ended up doing some legendary sh*t that won’t be topped.” Similarly, former Hawks guard and current Wizards star Trae Young tweeted, “Nahhhhh. It’s officially time 
Drake. 
.”
The NBA world continues to be divided between Lamar and Drake. LeBron chose the former’s side, and since then, the latter has dissed him multiple times. This was another instance.
