LeBron James has been called a lot of things over his 23 years in the NBA, but “the dictator of the NBA” is a new one. A former Celtics center turned activist tore into James over his behavior during the national anthem before the 76ers’ season opener, then went further, claiming James is the reason the league is still “woke.”

It started on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden before Philadelphia’s 106-100 win over the Knicks. James was seen practicing a golf swing and a jump shot. The clip spread quickly across social media, and it didn’t sit well with Enes Kanter Freedom.

“You know, I call him the Dictator of the NBA, and I think President Trump said it best. You know, he disrespects our country, and disrespects our flag and our veterans,” Freedom said on OutKick. “At one point I remember a couple years ago, he was sitting down during the national anthem and he was chatting with somebody and he got a lot of hate over it.”

The timing made it worse in Freedom’s eyes. He said he expected the opener to be the most-watched in “the last five, six years,” and it turned out to be the most-watched opening night in NBA history. It was also James’ first regular-season game after signing with the 76ers, and it came at Madison Square Garden, which Freedom called the most famous arena on the night the defending champion Knicks raised their banner.

Then came a shocking claim.

“LeBron James is the reason that NBA is woke still,” Freedom said. “I promise you once he retires, NBA is not going to be as woke as now.”

Freedom also revealed that one of James’ former teammates privately doubted his activism. During Freedom’s last NBA season with the Celtics, he asked Dennis Schroder, who had played with James on the Lakers, what James was really like.

“He said, ‘Whatever is LeBron doing is for LeBron.’ I was like, enough said. We don’t have to say a word anymore,” Freedom recalled. “Because I used to respect him a lot, you know, for what he’d done for Black community. But when one of his former teammates said, you know, all his advocacy is for, is for LeBron, that’s where, that’s where he lost me.”

This isn’t the first time Freedom has taken aim at the future Hall of Famer. Their feud dates back to November 2017, when James said Dallas rookie Dennis Smith Jr. should have been a Knick, a comment he later said was aimed at then-Knicks president Phil Jackson, who had drafted Frank Ntilikina instead.

Kanter, then with the Knicks, defended his rookie teammate, and the two were hit with double technicals after a scuffle at Madison Square Garden days later.

The differences between the two grew in 2021. Freedom started speaking out about human rights issues in China. However, he felt that the league did not share his passion for the same. Moreover, he did not feel that LeBron James spoke out about China with the same passion that he discussed social justice issues in the US.

James, on the other hand, has not spoken much about him since 2021.

“I don’t give too many people my energy. He’s definitely not someone I would give my energy to,” LeBron said in 2021 in a presser about Freedom’s criticism. “He’s trying to use my name to create an opportunity for himself. I definitely won’t comment too much on that.”

Even on his accusations of “disrespecting” the country, LeBron James has yet to directly respond to Enes Kanter Freedom.