Drake’s LeBron shirt spotlights padel star Juan Lebrón at NOCTA event

Drake used a NOCTA Manor shirt to turn his long-running LeBron James tension into a padel reference, wearing and handing out tops that read, “The only LeBron I rate is Juan.” The target was clear, but so was the cameo name behind it: Juan Lebrón Chincoa, the Spanish professional padel player who was also present at the invite-only Drake and Nike retreat.

Lebrón is not a novelty reference. Red Bull’s profile frames him as a padel star and a “world number one” level player, and background on his career notes he became the first Spaniard to reach the top of the padel rankings. He has carried the nickname “El Lobo,” or the wolf, for years, a label that fits the edge and authority that make him one of the sport’s most recognizable figures. A Red Bull athlete page also shows him still appearing on major stages, including the Reserve Cup in Marbella, Spain, on Sept. 20, 2025.

The Drake shirt worked because it tied a familiar celebrity feud to a name most mainstream music fans would not have known a day earlier. Billboard said Drake also posted an Instagram caption saying he had been “proving himself right these last two years,” which sharpened the read that the shirt was part of a broader public shot at LeBron James. Complex, HotNewHipHop, Hot 97, HipHopWired and a wave of posts on X and Threads amplified the moment as trolling, but the shirt’s wording also did something else: it dragged Juan Lebrón Chincoa out of padel’s usual audience and into a cross-sport conversation.

That matters for a sport still pushing for North American visibility. NOCTA Manor was already built as a celebrity-heavy brand setting, with guests drawn from sports, music and fashion, so the shirt landed in a room designed for virality. The question is whether it becomes more than merch theater. With Lebrón’s status as a former rankings leader, his active presence in marquee events, and his name now attached to one of hip-hop’s most visible figures, padel got a rare pop-culture entry point that could reach well beyond its own established fan base.