The New York Knicks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 124-123 on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, much to the delight of a former Knick and notorious Internet troll.
Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter immediately took to Twitter to take a shot at LeBron James, using James' patented #StriveForGreatness hashtag in sarcastic fashion:
— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) March 17, 2019
James and Kanter have had numerous interactions. James criticized the Knicks for drafting Frank Ntilikina over Dennis Smith Jr. in the 2017 NBA Draft, and when James and Ntilikina got into a physical tussle in a contest in November of that year, Kanter went face-to-face with “The King.”
This is not even the first time that Kanter has mockingly used James' hashtag, tweeting a similar message after the Cavaliers lost a matchup against the Thunder in January of last year:
148 ⚡️👑#StriveForGreatness🚀
— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) January 20, 2018
James has mostly brushed Kanter's repeated trolling aside, although Kanter also posted a video last May telling LeBron he should “prove” that he was “King of New York” in anticipation of James' impending free agency.
Kanter began the 2018-19 season with the Knicks, but was released after the team failed to negotiate a trade for him at the deadline in February. In 11 games with the Blazers, Kanter is averaging 10.4 points and 6.9 rebounds despite playing less than 20 minutes per night, proving to be a crucial bench piece for a Portland team that is trying to earn a top-three seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
The 26-year-old from Turkey has also used his social media as a platform to criticize Turkish president and purported despot Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Turkey even asked for an order of extradition and arrest warrant against Kanter in January.
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