Philadelphia 76ers superstar LeBron James got a cold reception from the home fans of the New York Knicks upon his debut on opening night.
The NBA schedule-makers decided to make opening night one of the biggest nights of the regular season by pitting two of the biggest moments against one another.
The Knicks have waited for a championship for 53 years and raised their banner on October 20. They did it with divisional rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers, in the building, featuring LeBron James for his debut with the franchise in his 24th NBA season.
Knicks fans let LeBron James know their true feelings about him
During James’ first trip to the free-throw line in the first half, Madison Square Garden erupted into chants of ‘We don’t want you’ toward the 41-year-old.
The chanting is a clear reference to James’ open admission that he would have joined the Knicks in the 2026 offseason if the franchise had not won a championship already. The appetite from the organisation to bring James into the fold after their title success was also extremely low.
Players such as Jalen Brunson made it clear in interviews that the Knicks were not interested in pursuing LeBron in free agency the same way teams such as the Cavaliers, Heat, and Warriors did.
While it’s been confirmed that LeBron did not want to join the Knicks after they won the championship, the franchise proved that they never needed LeBron in the first place to make their title dreams come true.
The Knicks have been floated as a potential LeBron destination going all the way back to the 2003 NBA Draft, with the Knicks making multiple aggressive pursuits of James over the last two decades.
With James also having an affinity for the historic franchise and their iconic arena, Madison Square Garden, it seemed the cards could have aligned in 2026 if the Knicks failed to win the title.
However, they did secure the championship they have always craved, nixing any plans of an emergency LeBron addition.
The 76ers trail the 58-54 Knicks at halftime, with LeBron putting up five points, four rebounds and five assists in 16 minutes of action.
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