Over the years, the bond between LeBron James and Grammy award-winning artist Drake has only gotten stronger. Having known each other since LBJ’s first stint in Cleveland, the duo has supported one another for as long as we can remember. But who would have imagined their connection is so deep that Drake even has the face of the four-time champion permanently inked on his body?

With over 56 different tattoos, Drake surely uses ink as his love language and his good friend LeBron made the cut a few years ago. However, King James is not the only NBA superstar the Canadian rapper has paid tribute to through his body art.

Let’s dive deeper into Drake’s basketball inks, starting with the iconic LeBron tattoo. Back in 2018, tattoo artist Inal Bersekov permanently inked a LeBron James portrait on Drake’s left upper arm. But not the NBA version of him. In fact, the image is from his High School days at St. Vincent-St. Mary wearing the historic ‘Irish’ jersey which sold at an auction in 2019 for $187,500.

Yes, the same jersey that LBJ wore on the legendary Sports Illustrated cover as he was deemed ‘The Chosen One’ by the world. With all that King James has achieved in his career so far, you might find it surprising that not any of his NBA jerseys, but his High School jersey that was sold at Goldin Auctions collected the highest amount paid for a LeBron jersey at the time.

Maybe that’s because it has a deep sense of nostalgia attached to it, as Bron was arguably the biggest draft prospect in NBA history while he was playing for St. Vincent-St. Mary. It could also be the reason why Drake got that particular image of LeBron tattooed on his arm, as it somehow marked the beginning of the King James era in basketball.

However, the tributes by the Canadian rapper do not end there.

Drake’s unique tribute to two other veteran NBA giants after LeBron James

While LeBron is the only basketball legend who has his face inked on Drake’s body, there are two other superstars that the rapper has paid tribute to in a similar fashion. Well, the first one is none other than Stephen Curry. On the same arm where he has the James artwork, Drake also has the number “30” with a halo tattooed above it, obviously referring to the Splash Brother’s jersey number. Below that, he has the word “Gifted” inked, likely for Curry’s unique skillset and his alien-like ability to shoot threes.

And just a tad bit left to that tattoo, he has another number inked on his arm which is “35” in honor of two-time Champion Kevin Durant. Moreover, the tribute becomes more evident with the word “Snipe” inked below KD’s jersey number, referring to his nickname Easy Money Sniper. However, it doesn’t come as a big surprise as Drake is a die-hard basketball fan and these three superstars are arguably the most influential players of this era.

Apart from his basketball-related tattoos, Drake also has images of his parents and son Adonis inked on his body, which goes to show how much these tattoos mean to him. Seeing LeBron, KD, and Steph as part of this permanent artwork engraved on the rapper proves how much the three superstars have influenced and motivated the Canadian veteran music artist over time.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what brand maker Leonard Armato had to say about the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe, check out this exclusive video by EssentiallySports.