The King Of Petty: LeBron James Vs. The City Of New York

Anytime LeBron James sets foot in NYC, he brings along a full-scale media extravaganza. And since the slumbering leviathan of passive-aggressiveness has been roused from the depths this season, the pettiness quotient was off the charts even before the Cavs traveled to New York to face the Knicks earlier this month.

After a win over the Mavs, LeBron went out of his way to heap praise on rookie Dennis Smith Jr., who scored 21 points in the loss and obviously left an impression on the King, so much so that LeBron wondered aloud whether the Knicks hadn’t made a mistake in passing up on the hyper-athletic guard in the draft last summer.

It’s impossible not to interpret that as an indirect jab at rookie Frank Ntilikina, who the Knicks selected ahead of Smith and who is highly-regarded among both the team and its fan-base. The Knicks, of course, couldn’t help but take the bait, and with that, a petty tree grew in Brooklyn.
Kristaps Porzingis was the first to jump to Ntilikina’s defense, rather disingenuously claiming that he “would not trade Frank for anybody,” when in fact there are obviously many, many players both the Knicks and Porzingis would gladly trade him for, including and especially one LeBron Raymone James. I digress.

Enes Kanter, whose loyalty to his teammates is superseded only by his aching desire to achieve tough-guy status, likewise joined the fray to defend Ntilikina. Prior to the game, however, LeBron tried to clarify that his comments were intended as a shot at Phil Jackson rather than Ntilikina, yet still managed to work in a jab at Kanter.

Jackson, who’s probably busy spending his crisp late-autumn Montana afternoons air-drying his toes, has yet to respond. But the pre-game animosity didn’t end there. After shoot-around, the Cavs’ team bus got stuck in midtown traffic, so LeBron and Co. decided to take the subway back to the hotel.

LeBron, apparently, had never ridden the subway in New York City (because, why would he?), so it was a special moment for him, which he relished with all the touristy giddiness he could summon. The only problem was that a neophyte commuter like himself could’ve benefited from a tip or two in rider etiquette, such as don’t inconsiderately crowd your fellow passengers with your man-spreading, particularly if you are 6’8 and 250 lbs, or attempt to film them without their permission. Basic stuff like that.

The man in the video quickly became an internet folk hero for his hilariously un-amused reaction to the whole thing, and he later explained that he had no clue it was LeBron James and was simply trying to rock out to U2 and get through his commute in peace.

And what would a LeBron-NYC beef be without New York City scion and LeBron-ball-buster extraordinaire Michael Rapaport throwing his hat into the ring with an epic and positively-NSFW rant?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7rN6CueJhQ

Then there was the actual game, which featured a few fireworks of its own. If LeBron wasn’t taking a shot at Ntilikina with his comments about Dennis Smith Jr., then he certainly took an opportunity to try and intimidate the Knicks rookie toward the end of the first quarter.

It was a dream come true for Kanter, who was just dying for any excuse to get into it with LeBron, but because this is the NBA and these little posturings are basically just another aspect of the in-arena entertainment, the game would proceed without further incident, and LeBron would ultimately get the last laugh when he knocked down a three-point dagger over Porzingis from way downtown to seal the win.

But Kanter, of course, wasn’t about to go away quietly, so instead of being humbled by the defeat, he decided to make a misogynistic joke about the sobriquet “King.”

LeBron responded by reminding everyone of the royal family gender hierarchy.

Then, just to rub salt in the wound, he proclaimed himself King of New York.

Just when you thought the beef had cooled, it took a surprising turn. Apparently NYC rap mogul Jay Z didn’t take too kindly to his old buddy’s royal ambitions toward his hometown, so at a recent concert at Quicken Loans Arena, Hova had a little fun with the Cleveland crowd.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbt-61OFn23/

Up to that point, LeBron was the runaway winner for this month’s petty awards, and being that he and Jay are long-time friends, we’re going to assume he has some good-natured ribbing in store for him at some point in the near future. Although, friends or not, you have to be careful when you start mixing it up with a veteran rapper who’s been involved in some of the most high-profile beefs of all time.