Did Drake unfollow LeBron James on Instagram? Fans share Kendrick Lamar theory for rapper unfollowing Lakers star

Sarah Effress

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Did Drake unfollow LeBron James on Instagram? Fans share Kendrick Lamar theory for rapper unfollowing Lakers star image

Certain celebrities have grown synonymous with major American sports leagues.

Think Taylor Swift and the NFL, Jason Sudeikis and the WNBA and Justin Bieber and the NHL. However, none rise to the level of Drake and the NBA. 

A lifetime fan of the Raptors, the Canadian rapper is one of the most frequent occupants of court-side seats league-wide. As such, Drake has developed relationships with several NBA players, including all-time great LeBron James.

However, this May, Drake was embroiled in a feud with Los Angeles rapper Kendrick Lamar. Two of the pillars of modern hip-hop music with 22 Grammys combined — 17 for Lamar and five for Drake — traded diss tracks back and forth while fighting for the right of best rapper in the game.

Long story short, Lamar dealt the knockout punch with smash hit "Not Like Us," which became both an MLB walk-up song and a frequent feature in TNT NBA broadcasts. Since then, Drake has dealt with the repercussions privately and publicly — even appearing to unfollow some of his closest friends on social media. 

Fans noticed the rapper do just that to James, who was seen at a Lamar concert in June. Here's everything to know about the Kendrick fan theory for Drake unfollowing the Lakers star.

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Did Drake unfollow LeBron James on Instagram?

Several NBA accounts on X, formerly Twitter, were quick to confirm that Drake did indeed unfollow James on Instagram.

The rapper appears to still be on the defensive following his spat with Lamar, and he apparently couldn't tolerate the Laker great's proximity to his sworn enemy. 

Rumor has it that a rift had formed between Drake and James after the 39-year-old was seen at Lamar's "Pop Out" concert with DeMar DeRozan in Los Angeles at the beginning of the summer. Joe Budden was one of the first to point out the pair's growing distance, discussing the potential beef in an August episode of his podcast, "The Joe Budden Podcast."

"The passive-aggressive LeBron-Drake beef is interesting to me," Budden started. "I know nobody's paying too much attention to it but it is a real thing. It's happening.

"It might not be too many people paying this any attention, but there's something with that friendship."

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Drake-LeBron relationship, explained

The rapper-athlete duo goes way back to the early 2000s when James attended the release party for Drake's "So Far Gone" mixtape in 2009 during his first stint with the Cavaliers. Both were ascending to fame at the same time and found comfort in their common journeys, becoming fast friends. 

The two would often text before James' games, the rapper encouraging his success just as much as the NBA star encouraged Drake's. Over the years, Drake and James would consistently show up for each other, celebrating the basketball player's 2013 NBA title with the Heat, attending Bronny James' high school basketball games and more together.

"What we have is real family," Drake told Yahoo in 2011. "It's not just because we are successful at what we do. We really care about one another on a day-to-day basis."

Drake has incorporated James' legacy into his music as well. His 2013 track "5 AM in Toronto" features a line that reads, "I'm on my King James s—, I'm tryna win here again." When James surpassed 30,000 career points in 2018, Drake shared a message on social media.

They have various business partnerships, too. Drake and James produced "The Carter Effect" (2017) together, covering Vince Carter's impact on Canadian basketball with the Raptors. They also produced "Black Ice" (2022), a documentary about a defunct hockey league composed entirely of Black players.

In 2019, they teamed up to expand Uninterrupted by creating a Canadian branch. A few years later, they ventured into soccer, bidding to buy a portion of the popular Italian soccer team AC Milan. Eventually, they became members of a $1.2 billion deal involving the club.

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Drake's LeBron tattoo, explained

One of Drake's many tattoos is a portrait of James, which he had inked on his left upper arm in 2018 by tattoo artist Inal Bersekov. Notably, it's not an image of the NBA star today — it's a depiction of James from his High School career at St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, Ohio. 

In the tattoo, James is wearing his famous "Irish" jersey, which was auctioned for over $180,000 in 2019. Yes, you're thinking of the jersey he wore on the iconic Sports Illustrated cover that labeled him "The Chosen One."

James isn't the only NBA star featured in Drake's body art. Though he is the only tattoo with a face, the rapper has images commemorating Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Each of those features the stars' jersey numbers and the words "gifted" and "sniper" under their respective tattoos.

Sarah Effress

Sarah Effress Photo

Sarah Effress is an editorial intern for The Sporting News. She is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, and loves to talk soccer and women's college sports.