Jaleel White has explained why he believes Drake and LeBron James are experiencing issues at the moment, given their years-long friendship that seemed to sour once the feud with Kendrick Lamar escalated.
On an episode of the Everybody Lurks podcast, White shared his thoughts on the lyric fans believe Drake had reserved for LeBron on his new single “What Did I Miss?” On the song, Drizzy revisits his viral feud with K Dot and appears to take a subtle jab at LeBron.
The line in question was: “I saw bro went to Pop Out with them, but been dick-riding gang since ‘Headlines,'”—seemingly criticizing the NBA star for attending Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out concert in Los Angeles. According to White, LeBron may have a personality that draws him to whatever is “hot” at the moment, regardless of whether that event comes at the expense of a friend.
“There are some celebrities who are drawn to what’s hot […] and then there’s another celebrity that is drawn to what serves them on a human level,” White said. “I think [LeBron] was drawn to what was extremely hot at the time […] There’s certain people, I don’t care how hot their event is, if I don’t jive with what they are, I ain’t going in there. It could be the hottest thing going but what they stand for is not what represents me or there’s a conflict of interest I’m just not going to go.”
Tension between Drake and LeBron has simmered since early 2024, notably after Drake released “Fighting Irish Freestyle,” a track many interpreted as a shot at James by referencing his high school basketball roots at St. Vincent–St. Mary. While LeBron hasn’t publicly commented on the friction with Drake, he was captured on video listening to and rapping along with one of Kendrick’s songs at a party.
White also has an indirect connection to the beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. During their epic showdown—when both rappers dropped several diss tracks in a short span—Drake released “Family Matters,” a track that references the iconic sitcom of the same name, where White rose to fame as the character Steve Urkel.
