Earlier this week, Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie and New York Knicks big man Enes Kanter engaged in a mini-Twitter beef. Fans made it an all-out war.
Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie and New York Knicks center Enes Kanter on Monday night had a bit of a Twitter beef over comments made by former NBA and current Big 3 player Metta World Peace.
Their beef would open the floodgates for an all-out Twitter war between “Nets Twitter” and “Knicks Twitter.”
Now for those that aren’t too familiar with how the Twitter world works, there isn’t a separate Twitter for Knicks or Nets fan. Dividing it between the fan bases just means those people make up the collective of people tweeting about things related to or surrounding that topic.
To recap, World Peace stated in an interview that the Knicks and Indiana Pacers would be the two teams playing in the Eastern Conference Finals — a hot take as scorching as being stuck on the 5 train with no air conditioning in the middle of summer.
This prompted Dinwiddie to respond.
https://twitter.com/SDinwiddie_25/status/1029194730800902145
Now one could argue that what Dinwiddie said was a hot take in its own right as the Nets haven’t exactly been a standout team the last few years. Worse, Brooklyn lost the season series to the Knicks last season 4-0.
This prompted Kanter, who is no stranger to Twitter beefs, to respond to Dinwiddie.
https://twitter.com/Enes_Kanter/status/1029199479696703490
The two would have a few more exchanges before the night was over. But nobody could’ve predicted the all-out war that would ensue on the Twitter time line.
Of course there were the generic “traded draft picks” and “No Finals” tweets from Knicks fans. But for every shot thrown at the Nets, there was a rebuttal:
Most losses in NBA this MILLENNIUM! This MILLENNIUM!!! https://t.co/iZwUenYwOt
— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) August 14, 2018
Nets have won 9 playoff SERIES since 2000. Knicks have 11 playoff GAMES in that same timeframe. Knicks have lost more regular season games than any NBA since 2000. Facts be facts. https://t.co/6HDAXjWcM2
— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) August 15, 2018
It is very interesting that a fan base that hasn’t seen a championship since the ’70s is so quick to jump on a team and fan base that has had more success over the past 20 years. Even days after the beef, some Knicks fans just wouldn’t let up.
Mentioning Dinwiddie for things that didn’t even make sense:
Now to the fan bases of teams like the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors or Los Angeles Lakers this would just seem like two fan bases of mediocre teams shouting over who is the worst of the worst. However, this could be viewed as pretty exciting on both sides.
Both the Knicks and Nets have a few young pieces and plenty of cap space for next year’s free agency period. Both teams are poised to attract big players and already have reports of players wanting to either come play for them, or at least grant them a meeting.
If this week’s crosstown Twitter war is any indication of what basketball in New York will be like for the next few years, then sign me up. This city has been starved for good basketball for quite some time.
A true rivalry in which both teams are competitive not only between themselves, but also in the league, is something to truly be excited about.