Apologies to anyone who has to follow Kendrick Lamar, but he’s won over the Internet tonight. His one-night-only show, The Pop Out: Ken and Friends, electrified Los Angeles, and made him the top trend on social media. If basketball’s big names weren’t in Kia Forum already, they were streaming it on Amazon Prime or Twitch. The reactions were instantaneous and big. This concert comes on the heels of Lamar’s viral rap beef with Drake, but it was all about celebrating African American history, music, and Lamar’s hometown of LA. NBA stars weren’t immune to Lamar’s spectacle and had a lot of emotions on social media.

The original rapper-athlete, DJ Diesel Shaq himself, was not missing out. If he was at Kia Forum in person, it’s not clear. But he did make sure everyone knew he was neck-deep in Juneteenth sharing a clip of Lamar featuring artists, Jay Worthy and the Whoops performing on his Instagram Stories. O’Neal, who loves a good beef, was discussing the Kendrick-Drake feud with Ice Cube on The Big Podcast a few weeks ago. And though neither was explicit about their side, they agreed that Lamar was winning.

Just as subtle was Dwyane Wade’s wife, Gabrielle Union, sharing a screengrab of the concert on Amazon Prime as proof that she was watching. The one who threw subtlety aside was Kendrick Perkins, who dissed his own team while hyped for The Pop Out. Perkins wrote on X, “This Concert is more entertaining than the NBA Finals.” You know the Finals when Big Perk’s former team, the Boston Celtics, won the franchise’s 18th title on Monday.

Perkins was the one who won the 17th title in 2008. He had been skeptical about Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown all season and gave them their flowers after they reclaimed the title. But he might be among those who found the 2024 series underwhelming in comparison to Lamar’s concert.

He was not alone in likening The Pop Out to championship vibes. Gilbert Arenas brought back the iconic Kobe Bryant image after the 2001 championship win. You know, the one in the locker room holding the Larry O’Brien trophy? Thematic as Lamar idolized Kobe, and Bryant said Lamar was as competitive as himself. His love for Bryant and his hometown showed through this concert too.

Kendrick Lamar’s easter eggs thrill NBA stars

After adding a deep fake Kobe tribute to the Drake diss track, “Euphoria,” Lamar gave a shoutout to the Lakers legend at The Pop Out with both Lakers and Clippers players in attendance. LeBron James, Coby White, and James Harden were in the crowd while Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan joined him on the stage. He opened with “Euphoria,” introducing a new verse that alluded to Drake holding Tupac’s ring.

The Tupac references didn’t skip Jamal Crawford, who was in awe that Lamar picked a red hoodie and hat over whitewashed jeans as an homage to Tupac. He wrote, “Awwwwwwwwwwwwww nah! He wearing the PAC fit?!” while also buzzing seeing the guests on the “Not Like Us” performance. When he wrote, “Man he got DR. DRE outside?! And had him introduce “ Not LIKE US”?! Ok it’s officially OVER,” he may have not noticed Russ on stage too.

Evan Turner was toeing the line in the beef with a debatable post, “Why did Kendrick really have that whole crowd singing a diss word for word on the modern day goat … Damn Down goes Frazier.” The debate he kickstarted under it is on theme with “Euphoria” but Kendrick Lamar unanimously won this Juneteenth.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.