Over the course of his years-long career, Lebron James played dozens of games in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Home to the legendary New York Knicks franchise, the Garden has been the backdrop for some of the 13-time All-Star’s most exciting performances on the court. He has had a couple of 50-point games, accumulated triple-doubles, overcome 20-plus-point deficits and obviously done a lot of winning in the iconic arena. Last night, following another electrifying performance against the Knickerbockers, King James took to social media to proclaim his dominance in NYC.
“You’re welcome.. 👑of NY #myfavoriteplaygroun #striveforgreatness🚀,” read the caption accompanying an Instagram post from James. The posting featured a picture of the future Hall of Famer standing at the center of the Madison Square Garden hardwood.
James’ controversial claim has, of course, ruffled a few feathers throughout NYC, as well as sparked debates as to whether his statement rings true or not. The title of “King of New York” isn’t taken lightly in the hip-hop community, with rappers competing for years for the title.
Legendary radio disc jockey Funkmaster Flex quickly took to Instagram to chime in, insisting that his Knicks and their star Kristaps Porzingis step up to the plate. His IG post read, “@nyknicks this should be your motivation!!!! Carmelo is gone… no more excuses!!! This is super disrespectful!!!! Until y’all win u have a problem!! #JustMyOpinion UPDATED: @kporzee we on your ass now??? Fuck Mello… you Fucking ready? Or Nah?”
Diddy and Fabolous also responded, with simply eye emojis as comments under LeBron’s post.
New York Knick player Enes Kanter didn’t quite agree with the four-time MVP. “We’ve already got a king; it’s Kristaps Porzingis,” Kanter said during a team practice earlier today. “Sorry about that.”
In the past, Lebron has been pretty respectful of Madison Square Garden. He was once quoted saying, “To be in the Garden, I love my fans back in Cleveland, I love my fans when I was in Miami, but if I could have 82 regular-season games in the Garden, you know I would.” He later added that New York is the “Mecca of basketball.”