Cole Burston/Getty Images
Ever since LeBron James attended Kendrick Lamar's "Pop Out" concert in Los Angeles on Juneteenth of 2024, a show that saw NBA stars like Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan take the stage and dance during Lamar's "Not Like Us" diss track of Drake, the rumored fallout between James and the rapper has been discussed incessantly.
Just last week, it became pretty apparent that Drake took a shot at James in his new "What Did I Miss?" track, dropping the following lyrics:
"I saw bro at the Pop Out with them but been d---k riding gang since Headlines [a song by Drake]. You switched on the guys and supported a hater [Lamar]."
If there were ever any doubt that those lyrics were directed at LeBron James, Drake basically confirmed as much on Friday, July 11, at his 2025 Wireless Festival.
Thanks to some highly observant fans, Drake's "Irish 23" jersey tattoo that paid homage to James and his storied high school days at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, appears to have been swapped out for another NBA star.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors talks to Drake before a game against the Toronto Raptors. Mark Blinch/Getty Images
In a move that doesn't necessarily come across as surprising-Drake is not exactly the type of person to simply wear longer sleeves to cover up the LeBron love-the rapper has ditched the James tattoo in favor of a tattoo paying tribute to fellow Canadian and Oklahoma City Thunder star, Shai-Gilgerous-Alexander.
More specifically, some arm art of the NBA regular season MVP and NBA Finals MVP's No. 2 Thunder jersey.
While the tattoo itself is by no means elaborate, saying "Thunder" with "2" right below it, the seemingly abrupt change speaks plenty to Drake's rapidly dropping fallout with James.
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) July 12, 2025
Back in January of this year, Drake had initially made a somewhat obvious reference to James in his conveniently titled "Fighting Irish" freestyle, reminiscing about when the duo apparently once traded watches.
"Remember we traded watches, I gave you the Arabic dial, and you gave me the numbered edition."
The additional lyrics from Drake in "Fighting Irish" about the fallen friendship and loyalty can be found in the X post below.
"Remember we traded watches I gave you the arabic dial and you gave me the numbered edition"
Looks like Drake had some words for Lebron James on his new "Fighting Irish" freestyle pic.twitter.com/6U9yYcAGTo
— shotta (@ShottaSV) January 3, 2025
And now? Well, now, we sit back and wait for some kind of subtle to not-so-subtle response from LeBron on his social media platform of choice.
Drake Replaces LeBron Tattoo With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Tattoo first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 12, 2025
2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.