Before he joined the Philadelphia 76ers for his supposedly final NBA team, LeBron James shared on Monday that he previously had thoughts about joining the the New York Knicks.
Why didn't he? Well, once the team won the NBA title over the San Antonio Spurs in June, the King changed his mind.
"I had visions of playing in the Garden and finishing my career in the Garden," James said, via ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "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."
McMenamin added James' thoughts that that the sports media (and likely public at large) wouldn't have let him off for joining a NBA title winner right after that title was won: "Y'all wouldn't have let me lay
that down, at all."
That's as sensible a reason as to why James didn't choose New York as we've heard. James would have been chasing the expectations of a team that just won it all and the judgment of taking the "easy way out" of joining the reigning NBA champs.
The 76ers provide neither of those things (at least right now), so that probably appealed to him as much as anything else did about his Philly decision.
Knicks fans dreaming of James? Well, it sounds like you would have had to trade out your banner for a season or two with him. That's not a trade any Knicks fans would make, we'd bet.
When does the season start for Philly?
Funny enough, the team opens the season at MSG against the Knicks on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: LeBron James didn't join Knicks over 1 big reason, per LeBron
