LeBron James decided to extend his career with the Philadelphia 76ers, joining forces with Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
On paper, that’s about as stacked of a team you could put together. However, had the New York Knicks not ended a 53-year championship drought, King James could’ve finally made his way to the Big Apple in his NBA-record 24th season.
"I had visions of playing in [Madison Square] Garden and finishing my career in the Garden," James said. "One of the best places I've ever played.
"I think it's the No. 1 arena in the world, as far as for a basketball player. But after they beat San Antonio, I was like, 'Hey, I can't.' I couldn't do it. Y'all wouldn't have let me lay that down, at all. But much respect to the Knicks, obviously. An unbelievable team, unbelievable players. Shout out Jalen Brunson. I love that guy, he's unbelievable. But, yeah, I'm happy where I'm at, and I'm looking forward to it."
James certainly isn’t wrong that the media would’ve ragged on him a bit for joining the defending champions, even if the soon-to-be 42-year-old is expected to play a significantly reduced role at this stage of his career.
However, James has earned the right to do whatever he wants to do despite what critics may say, as he’s the one who put the work into his body, mindset, and game to last over two decades in the league while playing as close to his best as possible.
Now, would it have made sense for the Knicks to bring him in? Probably not, as they have a good thing cookin’ with Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart rounding out their starting five.
Bridges or Hart probably would’ve had to accept a role off the bench in this instance, which could end up disturbing team chemistry. However, Bridges or Hart wouldn’t be accepting a bench role for anybody. They’d be doing it for arguably the greatest player of all time.
Plus, championships are not guaranteed in the NBA, and it’s not easy to win it all in consecutive years.
James could’ve been the boost that helped the Knicks get over the hump and take a significant amount of scoring and playmaking pressure off of Brunson and Towns.
But if this experiment didn’t work out, New York fans would never forgive James and make him the scapegoat if the Knicks failed to repeat as champs.
