The feud between Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James and New York Knicks center Enes Kanter continues to grow, after the Cavs forward’s social media activity added some low key fuel to the fire.
On Wednesday, the Chicago Bulls’ Lauri Markkanen decided to put Kanter on his poster after he slammed the ball against the Knicks center during a fastbreak. The dunk was all over social media as fans and players delighted at the rookie’s highlight of the night.
More than any other NBA player, however, it appears that James enjoyed it much more after he liked the video of Kanter’s posterization that was posted on the NBA’s Instagram account. Twitter user vismay was able to capture the image and posted it on his account.
https://twitter.com/vspandia/status/951285998587179008
James and Kanter began a season-long rivalry when the Cavs star suggested earlier that the Knicks should have selected Dennis Smith Jr. with the No. 8 pick in the NBA draft but the Knicks opted for Frank Ntilikina, who has shown some flashes of brilliance during the season.
Kanter came to his rookie’s defense by taking to Twitter to express his support of his team’s pick. He also elaborated further what he thought of James’ words.
“I don’t care who [you are],” Kanter said. “I just cannot let anyone disrespect my family like that, because when I play for an organization, I see my teammates and that organization as like a family. And it doesn’t matter if it’s LeBron or whoever it is. I cannot just let him disrespect him like that. The coaches, the GMs, the president, this organization knows what they’re doing…I mean, come on. That’s a rookie. You cannot just say anything like that about him. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter [if it’s] LeBron or whoever it is. I don’t care who. I cannot let anyone disrespect my family like that.”
On the Cavs star’s part, he said he was throwing shade at Phil Jackson, the Knicks’ former team president, rather than Ntilikina. Regardless, it’s become clear that this has turned into a James and Kanter beef.
After trolling Kanter by liking the video of Markannen’s dunk, James has certainly made it clear that their feud isn’t over.