50 Cent is throwing his full support behind the Indiana Pacers during the NBA Finals, despite previously backing his hometown team, the New York Knicks.
After being spotted courtside throughout the Knicks’ playoff run, 50 switched allegiances once the team fell to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Following Indiana’s Game 6 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to tie the Finals 3-3, the rapper posted an AI-generated image of himself wearing a Pacers jersey and championship ring on Instagram. “Can you say momentum. Yeah can’t beat them when they all balling! I KNOW YOU MAD, MAD ITS OK. Fvck you 50 LOL,” he wrote.
In a separate post, 50 shared a photo of discarded Knicks jerseys and explained the switch: “New York yes I’m from New York, but I can’t lose my whole life. FVCK THAT take this sh!t back, I’m a Winner!”
His loyalty shift drew attention from longtime rival Ja Rule, who blamed 50’s presence for the Knicks’ loss. “Man I knew my Knicks was gonna lose as soon as I seen that black cat (rat) in the building….” Ja wrote on X.
50 Cent also used the NBA Playoffs as an opportunity to patch things up with Joe Budden. During a Knicks game, fans noticed Budden seated behind 50 and Fat Joe on the jumbotron. Shortly after, 50 posted a picture of their meeting and captioned it, “I ran into Joe at the game he said I don’t need Therapy No MORE!” A photo later surfaced showing the two sharing a hug, though Budden hasn’t commented publicly.
The reconciliation follows past tension between the two, which stemmed from 50’s comments about Irv Gotti’s death that Budden criticized as insensitive.
