LeBron James, 41, begins his 24th NBA season with the Philadelphia 76ers. At media day, he told Dave McMenamin of ESPN that he’d once had other plans: “I had visions of playing in [Madison Square] Garden and finishing my career in the Garden. 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,” he said, according to BasketNews. Then the Knicks beat San Antonio. “But after they beat San Antonio, I was like, ‘Hey, I can’t.’ I couldn’t do it.”
He paid tribute to the Knicks, and to Jalen Brunson in particular, said he was happy with his choice, and is now chasing another ring. The Garden presentation will never happen. Dimitri did it anyway.
Picture it. Total darkness. Not my kind of darkness, where the caretaker only kills half the strip lights: the real thing. [jingle] Mesdames et messieurs, dames en heren, this is the moment. Twenty-fourth season, twenty-two-time All-Star, the best arena in the world, he said so himself, and on the mic, after two seconds of silence… LeBron! There it is. It was ready. It never happened. Back at our place, one Saturday, I introduced a forward who’d signed with another club the Thursday before, and I’d cut his jingle for nothing. I’ve kept it in a folder ever since. This one goes right next to it. Philadelphia will get its presentation, and I wish them a good sound system. Just saying.
Last season, with the Lakers, he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists a game.
It’s true, we checked: BasketNews.
