Former NBA champion Metta Sandiford-Artest, widely known as Metta World Peace, voiced his disagreement with LeBron James’ assessment of the Indiana Pacers’ leadership, offering a different perspective ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

On Saturday, Sandiford-Artest took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to respond to a clip from the Mind the Game podcast featuring James and co-host Steve Nash. In the snippet, James referred to Tyrese Haliburton as the “head of the snake” for the Pacers — a claim Sandiford-Artest respectfully pushed back on.

“Head of the snake is coach Carlisle respectfully. Coach is a different monster,” Sandiford-Artest wrote. “@Pacers looking like a hot Destination.”

LeBron praises Haliburton’s leadership, but Carlisle’s impact looms large in Pacers’ Finals run

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James, speaking earlier in the week on the podcast, praised Haliburton’s influence and leadership as the engine behind Indiana’s postseason success.

“You get why the [Pacers] are the team they are, and it starts with the head of the snake,” James said. “You would run through a wall for certain guys, and [Hali] is a guy that you would do that for.”

The Pacers currently hold a 1-0 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals after a dramatic 111-110 comeback win in Game 1. Haliburton sealed the victory with a clutch game-winning jumper with 0.3 seconds left in regulation.

While Haliburton has earned widespread praise for his leadership and clutch performances, Sandiford-Artest’s comments serve as a reminder of the foundational role head coach Rick Carlisle has played in the Pacers’ rise. Carlisle, who won an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, has guided Indiana to its first Finals appearance since 2000 in his second stint with the franchise.

Under Carlisle’s direction, the Pacers rebounded from a 16-18 start to finish the regular season 50-32 and went on to eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Game 2 of the NBA Finals is set for Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. ET at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The Pacers will look to build on their momentum before the series shifts to Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4.