Lakers' LeBron James Won't 'Give His Energy' to Enes Kanter After Center's Criticism

Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter has publicly criticized Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Nike co-founder Phil Knight in recent weeks to raise awareness of alleged human rights violations in China.

Kanter's Celtics and James' Lakers faced off in Boston on Friday, with the center sporting these sneakers featuring an image of the Nike-sponsored athlete:

Regarding Kanter's comments, James had this to say postgame, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin:

The two also crossed paths on the court pregame, per A. Sherrod Blakely of Bleacher Report:

Kanter and James have clashed before, with the former player coming to then-rookie New York Knicks teammate Frank Ntilikina's defense after LeBron said the Knicks should have drafted Dennis Smith Jr. over the Frenchman in 2017. Kanter also intervened in a minor altercation between Ntilikina and James when the latter player was with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The center also expressed disappointment at James' comments criticizing then Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey's Oct. 2019 tweet in support of Hong Kong, as noted by Chris Bumbaca of USA Today.

On Friday, Kanter and the C's won 130-108 behind Jayson Tatum's 37-point, 11-rebound double-double. James returned after an eight-game absence (abdominal strain) and posted 23 points and six rebounds.

L.A. will wrap its two-game season series with Boston at home Tues., Dec. 7, in Boston.