LeBron James has been the subject of many memes through the years, and now we know the story behind one of them.
Ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers’ March 19 road matchup against the Miami Heat, James arrived at the Kaseya Center in a warm-weather wardrobe: shorts, a button-down short-sleeve shirt and a bucket hat.
Despite James’ drip, fans spotted one item that stuck out in his arrival — he was carrying a vinyl of rapper J. Cole’s latest album, “The Fall-Off,” in his right hand. However, it wasn’t for looks.
On Carmelo Anthony’s latest “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast, the rapper, whose real name is Jermaine Cole, explained why the Lakers star had brought his album.
“On his way, he had The Fall-Off vinyl — he brought it so I could sign it,” Cole said.
J. Cole explains the backstory behind Bron carrying the ‘Fall Off’ vinyl 👀 pic.twitter.com/clWdiUbWzd
— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) March 24, 2026
The North Carolina-raised rapper said he reached out to James because he would be in attendance at the Lakers’ road game against Miami and wanted the 22-year NBA vet to meet his children. J. Cole also said the Lakers star is his oldest son’s favorite player.
“My oldest [is] getting into basketball, Bron is his No. 1, and I hit Bron and he graciously said he would do it,” Cole said.
While Cole and his children witnessed the Lakers beat the Heat 134-126 behind Luka Doncic’s 60-point performance and James’ 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, he expressed his excitement about James meeting his children, which hit deeper as a celebrity.
“This man was doing me a solid. … Bro, that s— was the craziest feeling like to see your kids like meet a superhero — that was my first time ever doing some s— like that,” Cole said.
“And it made me appreciate all the times that there was a father or something that had their kid and I get to sign … or autograph or take a picture. I like ‘Oh my god.’ I hear the father in my mind, ‘Man, I really appreciate this bro, thank you.’ But now that I’ve been through it, I’m like, ‘Oh, I know what he meant now.’ … You gave my son a lifelong memory, so shoutout to Bron for that.”
Cole’s “The Fall-Off” is his seventh studio album. The 24-track album was released on Feb. 6, featuring artists such as Future, Tems, Erykah Badu and more.
James is currently averaging 21 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.9 assists in the 2025-26 regular season.
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