Drake appears to have swapped out his LeBron James tribute tattoo for one honoring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The rapper once proudly rocked ink of James’ high school St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish jersey—a nod to both his admiration for the NBA icon and their longtime friendship.
But in a recent close-up photo from his Wireless Festival performance in London, fans noticed the Fighting Irish jersey has now been covered with a fresh tattoo of SGA’s Oklahoma City Thunder jersey.
SGA being a fellow Toronto native like Drake makes the new tattoo feel personal. The two have been building a connection—Shai recently appeared in Drake’s “NOKIA” video, and they’ve been spotted dapping each other up at games. In June, Drake even gave SGA a public nod after placing an $800,000 bet on the Thunder to beat the Pacers, posting on Instagram: “Check that box @shai.”
Meanwhile, Drake’s relationship with LeBron James seems to have taken a turn. Things started looking shaky after James showed up at Kendrick Lamar’s Pop Out concert, and back in January, a track titled “Fighting Irish” leaked where Drake appeared to take jabs at the Lakers star—without directly naming him.
“Remember we tradin’ watches? / I gave you that Arabic dial, you gave me a numbered edition / You would even check up on my son like a pediatrician…” Drake rapped, hinting at betrayal. “Show me how different we are, there’s blessings in juxtaposition / I guess now you boys gotta abandon your summer tradition.”
He didn’t hold back, later adding: “Talkin’ ’bout we family, well, I’m not the cousin to visit / God forbid we ever got to tarnish your public image… All that brother talk as if I really discovered a sibling.”
In February, during the opening night of his Anita Max Win tour in Perth, Drake switched up the lyrics to “Nonstop,” rapping, “How I go from 6 to 23 but not LeBron, man,” making it crystal clear where he stands.
As for LeBron? He’s keeping it moving. Just hours after Drake changed the lyric, Bron shared his excitement about Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance online. And on July 11, he looked completely unbothered, enjoying himself at a Bad Bunny concert in Puerto Rico.
