LeBron James Calls Himself King of New York After Win vs. Knicks

LeBron James is the King of New York—at least according to the man himself. The Cleveland Cavaliers forward said as much in an Instagram post Tuesday, a day after scoring 23 points in a contentious win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden:

James added 12 assists, nine rebounds and three blocks in the 104-101 victory, which saw the four-time MVP get into small scuffles with Enes Kanter and Frank Ntilikina.

The Knicks took offense when James said Saturday that they should have drafted Dennis Smith Jr. over Ntilikina. While James clarified he was taking a shot at former Knicks president Phil Jackson and complimenting Smith, with whom he's had a relationship for years, New York players did not take it that way.

"I don't care who you are," Kanter told reporters after Monday's game. "What do you call yourself? King, Queen, Princess. Whatever you are. We're going to fight. Nobody out there is going to punk us."

Reporters later informed James of Kanter's comments, and he responded: "I'm the king, my wife is the queen and my daughter is the princess so we got all three covered."

He also took time to throw additional dirt on Jackson, who was fired in June within a week of selecting Ntilikina one pick ahead of the Dallas Mavericks' Smith at No. 8 overall. 

"They're playing some good basketball," James told reporters of the Knicks. "I think Jeff—the coach, Jeff Hornacek—is finally, with the release of the old fella, is finally allowed to implement what he wants to do on the team. And it's showing it's very effective."

Naturally, James' "king of New York" post will fuel speculation he's considering the Knicks in free agency next summer. It would make some sense. Returning the Knicks to glory would be a fun final chapter in James' legacy, and the Knicks have an obvious co-star sitting there in Kristaps Porzingis.

Add in a trade that could include moving Ntilikina and Kanter for a third co-star, and the blueprint for another James Big Three is there—and there's additional fun pettiness to be had in moving the two players with whom he had beef.

That said, odds are James was just throwing one additional barb the Knicks' way as he headed out of town.