Being a generational talent and on the shortlist of the greatest NBA players of all time has led to LeBron James amassing a slew of celebrity friends, but he’s also had friendships turn sour. For instance, the relationship between James and Drake goes as far back as 2009, when the NBA forward attended the then-rising rapper’s mixtape release party. Through the years, the duo attended many events together, including James stopping by Drake’s hometown of Toronto multiple times during the city’s Caribana weekend and the rapper’s OVO Fest. It appeared that the two had a falling out, however, as multiple outlets noticed that Drake had unfollowed the Los Angeles Lakers star on Instagram.
There was speculation that the cause of the fallout was related to the “Hotline Bling” artist’s well-publicized beef with Kendrick Lamar. James attended Lamar’s The Pop Up concert in June 2024, around the same time the Compton rapper released “Meet the Grahams,” where he warned James and Steph Curry to keep their children away from Drake. When fans caught word that Drizzy had unfollowed “King” James, they started to suspect that the one-time friends were beefing. “Imagine betraying Drake for Kendrick Lamar,” one X, formerly Twitter, user wrote. “We all know Lebron ain’t loyal, just look what he did to the Cavs and Heat,” another joked.
There had been signs of possible tension between Drake and James even before the great unfollowing. In August, Joe Budden speculated about the status of their friendship. “The passive-aggressive LeBron-Drake beef is interesting to me,” he said on his “The Joe Budden Podcast.” Besides Drake, James has been on shaky ground with several notable names — including other rappers and fellow NBA players.
Is Kevin Durant a frenemy?
Considered to be two of the best of their generation of NBA players, an on-the-court feud sprang between LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Even though Durant’s Golden State Warriors bested James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in back-to-back NBA Finals in 2017 and 2018, many still considered the Cavs star to be the best player in the league, which reportedly irked Durant. Signs later pointed to the on-court rivalry spilling over to everyday life.
Durant was extremely candid when speaking to Bleacher Report in December 2018 for a feature article that asked several players about their thoughts on playing alongside James. “So much hype comes from being around LeBron from other people. He has so many fanboys in the media,” Durant told the outlet. “So I get why anyone wouldn’t want to be in that environment because it’s toxic,” he added. Durant then added that besides the off-the-court distractions, there were difficulties for stars to play alongside James, as they would have to change their games.
Former player-turned-analyst Jalen Rose thought that Durant’s words spoke volumes about how the then-Warriors forward felt about James. “It’s a little bit of hating; it sounds somewhat jealous when you use the word ‘toxic,’” Rose said on “Get Up” in December 2018, shortly after Durant’s comments were published. Years later, another analyst, Skip Bayless (a known James detractor), weighed in on Durant’s relationship with the Akron-born player. “Kevin Durant love-hates LeBron James,” Bayless said on “Undisputed” in November 2022. A famous rapper — who happens to be friends with Bayless — is another notable celebrity who has shown disdain toward James.
Lil Wayne felt disrespected
LeBron James famously turned heel during his ill-advised “The Decision” program when he announced he would “take [his] talents to South Beach” to join the Miami Heat. While playing for the Heat, James drew the ire of Lil Wayne, who had no allegiance to the team but frequently sat court-side at games because he lived in Miami. The “Lollipop” rapper went on an anti-James and Dwyane Wade tirade during an interview with Rolling Stone in February 2011. “Them n***as never speak to a n***a … They don’t chuck me the deuce or nothing. N***a spent all that money on them f***ing tickets … Come holla at me,” Weezy told the publication. One person suggested that perhaps the Heat stars were intimidated by the “The Carter” artist. “Intimidated? Of what? They think I’m gonna kill ’em or something? Them n***as is LeBron and D-Wade!” Wayne responded. The New Orleans-raised rapper said his girlfriend thought the players ignored him because he openly cheered against them. “We sit right there by them little b**ch-a** n***as. At least come ask me why I’m not rooting for you,” he added.
Long after James had departed South Beach, Wayne hinted that he still harbored hard feelings for the All-Star. In an interview with DJ Vlad, the conversation turned to the NBA GOAT debate, and according to the “A Milli” rapper it involved Kobe Bryant and not James. “These days they think the tough question is [Michael] Jordan or LeBron, no. Jordan or Kobe is the tough question,” Wayne said in December 2018.
As mentioned earlier, it should also be noted that Wayne is good friends with Skip Bayless, who is known for being a James critic.
Skip Bayless is famous for his LeBron James hate
A few names on this list may have quietly sneak-dissed LeBron James, but sports commentator Skip Bayless has been a loud detractor for years. “Like when you’re hating on LeBron James every single day … like you’re a hater,” fellow NBA player and occasional analyst Draymond Green said about Bayless while appearing on “The Big Podcast with Shaq” in May 2024. Bayless has become synonymous with ‘Bron-bashing, and many of his takes have aged like milk. For example, after the Cleveland Browns drafted Johnny Manziel in 2014, Bayless predicted on X that the quarterback would leapfrog James in popularity in Cleveland. If trashing James is his art, then X is Bayless’ canvas.
One of Bayless’s favorite refrains is that the NBA’s all-time leading scorer comes up short in the clutch. “Big-time clutch shooting by Paul George. Doubt LeBron could’ve made all three of those,” the former ESPN personality tweeted in May 2013. He even claimed on Fox Sports 1 in March 2017 that James lacked “the clutch gene.” Bayless has also attacked James’s shot selection on X, calling his poor three-point shooting in the 2023 NBA Playoffs “all-time pathetic.”
X may be where Bayless throws most of his barbs, but it was also the place where James reportedly extended an olive branch. Bayless claimed that James DM’d him on the platform back in 2009. “The message was, ‘Skip, lets be friends, I’ll help you, and you help me, let’s go through this together,’” he said on “The Skip Bayless Show” in May 2022. The analyst also claimed that the surprising DM mysteriously disappeared from his inbox shortly after it was sent. Bayless may be the loudest, but he’s far from the only analyst who dislikes James.
Why LeBron James almost fought Paul Pierce
Early in LeBron James’s career, Paul Pierce let his emotions get the best of him while trash-talking the Cleveland Cavaliers. Pierce’s former Boston Celtics teammate, Kendrick Perkins, recalled a game in 2003 when the player known as “The Truth” went overboard. “He’s talking big noise to the Cavs’ bench, and they’re sitting over there, ‘Bron and them,” Perkins said on ESPN’s “Hoop Streams” in May 2020. “Paul actually spits over there at the bench,” he added. Naturally, James and his teammates did not take kindly to the disrespectful gesture, and there was almost an altercation between the two teams after the game. “Ever since that moment, LeBron James and Paul Pierce hate each other,” Big Perk said.
The following day, his former teammate shared the story, Pierce confirmed it was true. “I’m glad social media wasn’t out there, because I spit at their bench,” the Hall of Famer said on ESPN’s “NBA Countdown” in May 2020. In case fans wondered if the players had fully buried the hatchet, Pierce also left James off his list of the five greatest players of all time when he appeared on the show a couple of days before.
Over a decade after the spitting incident occurred, Pierce still had a heated rivalry with James. In September 2015, Pierce’s former Washington Wizards teammate, Marcin Gortat, said that Pierce forbade teammates from wearing James’s signature sneakers. Another rivalry between James and an older NBA star caused a rising rapper to bash him.
Skilla Baby’s viral anti-Bron rant
Detroit rapper Skilla Baby went viral after he aired his grievances about LeBron James during an interview. Apparently, the “Skyami” rapper sided with Kobe Bryant in the “James vs. Bryant” debate that many hoops fans had. “I’m a Lakers fan, I just want them to get rid of Bron though … I’m just a Kobe fan, so I’m a Bron hater,” Skilla said on the “Kid L” podcast in June 2022. The rapper didn’t stop there and had more to say about James. “I’m a basketball Bron hater. Like when he on the court, I don’t f**k with you, dog,” he said. “I don’t like how he playin’ with everybody who ever been good in the NBA,” Skilla added, referring to James’s penchant for joining forces with other NBA stars.
At the time of that interview, Skilla had not punctured the mainstream as an artist, but in October 2023, Kid L shared clips of the Bron-hating rant in an Instagram post. That footage went viral and led to “King” James sharing it on his own Instagram Stories. “Crazy thing is I HATE ME TOO!!” the All-Star wrote in the post alongside several giant-grin emoji.
Shortly after seeing that James commented on his hater rant, Skilla tried to walk back the remarks. “I ain’t even mean to say I hate Bron, though. It was opposite day,” the Detroiter said in a post to his Instagram Stories. Fans believed Skilla had no idea at the time of the interview that the Los Angeles Lakers forward would hear the comments.
