LeBron James lost respect for Phil Jackson when he called James’ business partners a ‘posse’

Less than a day after New York Knicks president Phil Jackson had some choice words for four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James, the King said he lost respect for the 11-time coaching champion.

In an interview with ESPN.com’s Jackie MacMullan, the “Zen Master” labeled LeBron’s closest group of confidants and business partners as his “posse.”

“It had to hurt when they lost LeBron. That was definitely a slap in the face. But there were a lot of little things that came out of that. When LeBron was playing with the Heat, they went to Cleveland and he wanted to spend the night. They don’t do overnights. Teams just don’t. So now (coach Erik) Spoelstra has to text Riley and say, ‘What do I do in this situation?’ And Pat, who has iron-fist rules, answers, ‘You are on the plane, you are with this team.’ You can’t hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland.”

“I always thought Pat had this really nice vibe with his guys. But something happened there where it broke down. I do know LeBron likes special treatment. He needs things his way.”

LeBron’s business manager, Maverick Carter, was the first to take exception to Jackson’s loose usage of the word “posse.”

James followed up on Tuesday, telling reporters he “had” respect for Jackson as a coach. That respect dissipated after Jackson’s unfounded comments.

“To use that label, and if you go and read the definition of what the word ‘posse’ is, it’s not what I’ve built over my career,” he said, via Sporting News’ Jordan Heck. “It’s not what I stand for. It’s not what my family stands for. And I believe the only reason he used that word is because it’s young African-Americans trying to make a difference.”

Jackson’s franchise player and James’ close friend Carmelo Anthony also agreed the word “posse” has a negative connotation to it, saying he’d “never want to hear that word about” him and his family.

“I think anybody would understand that (posse is an offensive word). Anybody. I don’t think you have to be a rocket scientist or an educated person to understand kind of what that means to us.”

“In this sense, he was talking about five black men and their situation. Do I think he meant it any kind of way? I really don’t know. I don’t think he did. I would hope that he didn’t.”

“Sometimes Phil just says things and he says the first thing that comes to mind and then probably is in his office right now regretting it. I don’t know. When it comes to Phil, you just never know what’s going to be said, what’s coming out. It depends on who’s listening. People take it the right way or people take it the wrong way. You just never know when it comes to Phil. I just don’t understand him talking about LeBron right now, in November. I don’t understand that.”

This isn’t the first time Jackson’s launched venom James’ way. In 2015, he labeled LeBron one of the reasons NBA players lack structure.

“I watch LeBron James, for example,” Jackson said to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. “He might [travel] every other time he catches the basketball if he’s off the ball. He catches the ball, moves both his feet. You see it happen all the time. There’s no structure, there’s no discipline, there’s no ‘How do we play this game’ type of attitude. And it goes all the way through the game. To the point where now guys don’t screen—they push guys off with their hands.”

Cleveland and New York meet each other again on Dec. 7.