Is there a cold war brewing between LeBron James and Drake?

USA Today

23-07-2025

After more than a decade of friendship between NBA superstar LeBron James and the rapper Drake, it seems they are less close than they used to be.
Back in 2018, after joining Drake on stage at a concert in Los Angeles, the basketball player reflected on his friendship with Drake. He said the two became friends in 2007 and had gotten close each and every year. Drake wore Bronny James' AAU jersey in a 2019 music video and brought both LeBron and Bronny out on the It's All A Blur tour in 2023.
Everyone remembers the public beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, though. It eventually led to the latter winning several Grammy awards and a memorable Super Bowl halftime show, in which Drake was referenced.
This was an especially interesting time for athletes who maintained friendships with both of the rappers, though. That includes basketball players like LeBron as well as Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
Curry and Durant have remained relatively quiet on the drama but LeBron has seemingly drawn party lines.
April 2024: LeBron was originally somewhat neutral
At first, it seemed like LeBron (who has long clamored for as much music as possible from Kendrick) was just excited to hear from both of these musicians.
First, he tweeted an owl (a reference to Drake's OVO) and several fire emojis:
At this point, only "First Person Shooter" (by Drake featuring J. Cole) and "Like That" (from Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar) were out.
At that point, LeBron tweeted something likely about the beginnings of the beef.
He said there was nothing like watching two "heavyweights" do what they do best.
May 2024: LeBron referenced by Kendrick Lamar
It didn't take long, however, until LeBron was actually brought into the middle of it all. Shortly after Drake dropped the "Push Ups" and "Taylor Made Freestyle" tracks in April, Kendrick responded with "Europhia" and "6:16 in LA" at the end of the month.
Drake then put out "Family Matters" and "Buried Alive Interlude, Pt. 2" in the beginning of May.
While it was overshadowed by "Not Like Us" due to its massive success, Kendrick dropped "Meet the Grahams" on the same night.
On that song, fans heard a direct reference to LeBron and Curry. Here is what Kendrick advised:
"Ayy, LeBron, keep the family away, hey, Curry, keep the family away
To anybody that embody the love for their kids, keep the family away
They lookin' at you too if you standin' by him, keep the family away"
That isn't exactly a subtle message from Kendrick.
He suggests that anyone who loves their children should not affiliate with Drake.
More: Ranking the 9 songs from the Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef from best to worst
June 2024: LeBron attends The Pop Out
The following month, once everything was released for the public, Kendrick celebrated the new songs at The Pop Out concert in Inglewood.
Several NBA players, including a dancing Russell Westbrook, attended the show at The Forum.
LeBron was seen vibing in the crowd, which probably didn't make his old friend Drake feel very good.
From a public perspective, this was probably the most notable moment in whatever beef is brewing. But who knows what is happening behind the scenes?
More: Kendrick Lamar's The Pop Out: Ken & Friends concert was an epic victory lap full of nostalgia and the best kind of pettiness
January 2025: Drake freestyle and lots of messy unsourced gossip
At the beginning of the year, Drake's "Fighting Irish Freestyle" was likely a reference to LeBron considering the basketball player played high school ball for the St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish in Ohio.
As noted by Genius: "The track is filled with subtle references to their shared history."
That same month, there were also some allegations via leaked (potentially fake) direct messages about LeBron from Drake to designer Chris Blake Griffith.
DJ Akademiks also made some claims around this same time, but we should take those with a grain of salt.
There probably isn't much to see here, but it's still an interesting wrinkle in the story considering what happened next.
February 2025: Drake changes the lyrics to an old song
Back in February, the rapper changed the lyrics while performing one of his 2018 songs from the Scorpion album.
The lyrics to "Nonstop" originally included a reference to James but the new version made sure to clarify that the reference is NOT actually about him anymore.
He has done this at other concerts whenever he chooses this song, too.
July 2025: Drake changes body art and LeBron responds
Earlier this month, per ESPN, Drake covered his LeBron tattoo with a new one dedicated to Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Gilgeous-Alexander, like Drake, is also Canadian.
It didn't take long for LeBron to have his own retaliation, though.
A few days later, LeBron was seen singing "Not Like Us" with several other important figures (including Jeff Bezos):
LeBron also appeared alongside longtime Drake rival Pusha T in a new Tyler, The Creator music video.
So while neither party has directly addressed the conflict, there is plenty of reason to think there is something going on between these two former friends.