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That’s no way to talk to your neighbors.
LeBron James scored 14 points and had nine rebounds in his 76ers debut Tuesday night — a 106-100 road win over the defending champion Knicks.
The victory included some trash talk between James and Knicks fans that was caught on the ESPN broadcast.
A separate video by fans in the area of where James pointed his vitriol picked up some of the audio from the verbal spat.
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) October 21, 2026FULL LEBRON JAMES AUDIO:
"Ain't nothing soft from the midwest, I don't know what the f-ck you talking about,
I'm not from the west coast. I'm from Ohio baby, I'm not a midwest kid, I'ma Ohio baby. F-ck is you talking about." https://t.co/obBwknvsWR pic.twitter.com/QYCB1diYQK
“Ain’t nothing soft in the Midwest. I don’t know what the f—k you talking about,” James, an Akron, Ohio native, appeared to say.
“I’m not from the West Coast. I’m from Ohio, baby. I’m not a Midwest kid, I’m an Ohio baby. F–k is you talking about.”
The heated incident came when with the Knicks leading 56-50 late in the second quarter with Jalen Brunson at the line shooting free throws.
On the NBC broadcast, Mike Tirico claimed the fans were taunting James over the helicopter he uses to commute from New York City — where he has an apartment — to games and practices in Philadelphia after signing with the 76ers this offseason.
“Guess who’s playing peacemaker? Spike Lee,” Reggie Miller, who had a long-running feud with the director and famed Knicks fan, said on the broadcast alongside Tirico.
“He’s over here playing peacemaker. Boy, I’ve seen everything.”
James has a history of getting into it with fans who he deems to have crossed the line, notably having two Pacers fans tossed from a 2021 game in Indianapolis.
The game swung in the second half with the 76ers outscoring the Knicks 29-18 in the third quarter.
“It is a great night for New York fans, 50-plus years. I was a part of that at one point where we hadn’t won a major championship in Cleveland in over 50 years,” James said. “The fans will never forget this moment, and will never forget that championship run. We’re happy just to be able to come and play on such a historical night in a historical building and play the game we love.”