Drake’s latest album Iceman did more than reignite his feud with Kendrick Lamar. It also deepened the fracture between the rapper and one of his oldest NBA allies, LeBron James.
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On “1AM in Albany,” Drake appeared to take direct aim at the Lakers superstar with bars questioning his loyalty, rapping, “You always made your career off of switching teams up.” At the same time, the Canadian rapper doubled down on his appreciation for Stephen Curry, name-dropping the Warriors icon while Ayesha Curry publicly celebrated the release online.
In many ways, Iceman has completely flipped Drake’s NBA relationships. While LeBron publicly aligned himself with Kendrick during the height of the rap battle, Curry and his family quietly remained in Drake’s corner.
One verse from Iceman immediately grabbed the attention of both NBA fans and hip-hop listeners. On “1AM in Albany,” Drake rapped: “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.”
Drake never directly named LeBron, but the references were unmistakable. Beyond the “23 and me” wordplay tied to James’ jersey number, the “switching teams” line carried a noticeably colder tone than fans were used to hearing from Drake when discussing the four-time NBA champion.
Rather than sounding playful, the bars felt calculated, almost framing LeBron’s public support for Kendrick Lamar as another example of choosing the winning side. Online reactions immediately treated the track as one of the sharpest escalations yet in the Drake-LeBron fallout.
The fallout between Drake and LeBron has been building for nearly two years now. After LeBron attended Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert in Los Angeles and rapped along to “Not Like Us,” fans immediately noticed the shift. Drake later unfollowed LeBron on Instagram and eventually covered his famous LeBron tattoo with an image of fellow Canadian superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The tension only escalated when LeBron appeared alongside Pusha T in the video for Tyler, The Creator’s “Stop Playing With Me.” Considering Pusha T remains Drake’s most personal rap rival, many fans viewed the appearance as the final confirmation that their longtime friendship had fractured for good.
While Drake used Iceman to target LeBron, he also used the album to reinforce his longtime connection with Stephen Curry.
On the track, Drake raps: “Back when they was askin’ bout where Davison was at, now everybody got a blue 30 on they back,” referencing Curry’s rise from Davidson College to becoming one of basketball’s defining figures.
The shoutout was not random. Drake has publicly supported Curry for years, famously referencing him on “0 to 100 / The Catch Up” with the line, “Steph Curry with the shot, boy.” Unlike LeBron, Curry never publicly distanced himself from Drake during the Kendrick Lamar feud.
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
The divide became especially noticeable during the 2024 Paris Olympics, when Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” became a soundtrack around Team USA. While LeBron openly celebrated the song, Curry admitted he eventually got tired of hearing it everywhere.
“This is not the only song in America,” Curry said at the time, a comment many fans interpreted as subtle support for Drake amid the nonstop Kendrick wave.
Drake’s bond with the Curry family extends beyond basketball. The rapper has Curry’s No. 30 tattooed with a halo, while Ayesha Curry’s Toronto-area roots have long connected the families culturally as well. That loyalty is one reason Steph never publicly switched sides during the feud.
Ayesha Curry also publicly supported the rollout by reposting Drake’s “ICE MAN MAY 15” announcement on Instagram. She added the message: “Whose watching? We are. Whose listening? We are! Congratulations.”
Fans quickly noticed the wording. By repeatedly using “we,” Ayesha appeared to signal that the Curry household was fully supporting Drake’s latest release during a moment when much of the NBA world remains divided between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
In many ways, Curry’s stance has become the direct contrast to LeBron’s. While Drake now frames LeBron as someone who “switches teams,” Curry has quietly built a reputation as the NBA superstar who never publicly abandoned him, even at the peak of Kendrick Lamar’s cultural momentum.
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.” Even after publicly saying he would “always” have love for Drake, LeBron has remained silent about Iceman and the latest round of lyrics directed toward him. 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 reactions also highlighted the stakes surrounding Iceman. Entering the rollout, Drake was widely viewed as coming off the first major public “loss” of his career following the Kendrick Lamar battle. Because of that, fans immediately treated the LeBron lyrics as more than a random celebrity shot. They became part of Drake’s larger attempt to reassert himself culturally after the biggest rap feud of the decade.
The Drake-LeBron friendship once represented one of the strongest connections between hip-hop and the NBA. Now, Iceman has turned that relationship into one of the coldest storylines in sports culture.
As Drake continues leaning into a more isolated and confrontational era, the contrast inside the NBA has become impossible to ignore. LeBron publicly embraced Kendrick Lamar’s side of the feud, while Stephen and Ayesha Curry quietly emerged as the basketball family that never left Drake’s corner.
