Enes Kanter has a big message for LeBron James: “You’re not the king of New York.” James, a four-time MVP, posted about the Cavs win on Instagram, and seemed to suggest that he was the “king of the Big Apple” reports ESPN.
Kanter had to be separated from James on Monday night’s loss to the Cavs during an on-court skirmish. He said that James cannot hold that title, reports ESPN.
“We’ve already got a king; it’s Kristaps Porzingis,” Kanter said at practice on Tuesday, according to ESPN. “Sorry about that.”
He gave the snarky remark with a smile, and went on to say that the Knicks need to forget about the back-and-forth with James, move on, and get back on track, ESPN writes.
The back-and-forth first started when James said New York made a mistake in not drafting Mavericks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. Frank Ntilikina was chosen instead. Kanter and the Knicks defended Ntilikina publicly before the Cavs game. James later said he meant no disrespect to Ntilikina and that his critique was a shot at then-Knicks president Phil Jackson. According to ESPN, James also laughed off the criticism from Kanter in particular.
“For Enes Kanter, who always got something to say,” James said according to ESPN. “He says … I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
Then, late in the first quarter of the game, James crowded Ntilikina and prevented him from receiving an inbounds pass. Ntilikina shoved James away and other Knicks, including Kanter came to intervene, and James and Kanter stood face-to-face for a few moments and were assessed double technical fouls, reports ESPN.
ESPN reports that the Cavs came back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to win the game. James got seven points and eight assists in the fourth quarter.
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