LeBron James returns to MSG after flirting with Knicks, but now, it may be James wondering what could've been

James has teased -- and rejected -- the Knicks for years, but this summer, he may be the one who feels like he missed out Oct 20, 2026 at 12:21 pm ET • 4 min read The NBA's regular season tips off on Tuesday, with ring night in New York as the headline. The Knicks will put on championship rings for the first time in more than 50 years before shifting their focus to a title defense. Their first challenge will be one of their biggest competitors in the Eastern Conference, as the new-look Philadelphia 76ers come to town with Jaylen Brown and LeBron James now on the roster. James spent the summer canvassing the entire league for offers in what figures to be the final free agency of his career before eventually joining the Sixers. But as he tells it, there wouldn't have been a drawn-out process had the Knicks not won the championship. According to James and his agent Rich Paul, if New York wasn't having ring night on Tuesday, the 22-time All-Star would've signed with the Knicks as soon as free agency opened. However, once the Knicks won the title, they were effectively crossed off the list because LeBron wanted the chance to elevate a team desperate to win a title. So he chose the Sixers, owners of one of the league's longest championship droughts. It is fitting, however, that James' final free agency summer was spent proclaiming his love for New York only to sign elsewhere. LeBron has been connected to the Knicks for his entire career and has waxed poetic about the joy he gets from playing in Madison Square Garden for so long that it's tormented New York fans for nearly two decades. James doesn't hesitate to call MSG his favorite arena and has allowed himself to publicly daydream about what it'd be like to make it his home arena. While being drafted by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers was a storybook start to his career, James also had visions of being by the Knicks -- and had a sizable bonus in his first Nike contract if the Knicks drafted him, ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted recently on the Hoop Collective podcast. James regularly wore Yankees hats early in his career and when he finally hit free agency for the first time in 2010, the Knicks were among the favorites to land him. New York made a huge push for James -- including making a recruiting video featuring "The Sopranos" -- but he spurned the Knicks (and Cavs and Bulls) to form the Big 3 in Miami. His next two free agency summers, in 2014 and 2018, saw less fanfare after the PR disaster that was The Decision, but there was still slim hope in New York that James might finally choose the Knicks. The undercurrent of each of those summers was the Knicks' desperation for a savior, and who better than The Chosen One to lead New York back to the promised land. And yet, every time he had that opportunity, James chose to go elsewhere.In 2010, he was desperate to win and sought out the quickest path to multiple rings. In 2014, he had to mend fences back home and deliver on his promise to bring Cleveland a championship. In 2018, he chose the opportunity to revive the Lakers in the post-Kobe Bryant era and live in L.A., where he had a budding acting career and production company. All of those reasons are understandable, but after seeing the way New York celebrated that first championship and the adoration Jalen Brunson has gotten as the leading star of a Knicks' title team, one can't help but wonder if LeBron has some regrets about never trying to shoulder that burden of being the Knicks' savior. That is what makes this summer feel so different when it comes to James' flirting with New York. For years, it felt like he was leading the Knicks on, more intrigued by the affirmation of fans begging him to come save the team than by actually wearing the orange and blue. This time, it feels like James is the one longing for New York, but knows his narrative doesn't work if he ends his career by joining an established title team. There would've been no upside for James in signing with the Knicks now. If they won again, he would be a ring chaser who hitched his wagon to Brunson and the rest of New York's roster. If they lost, he would be the scapegoat who destroyed the best team chemistry in the NBA. And so, James opted for the next best thing this summer. Helping to end the Sixers' championship drought would let him bask in the glow of a sports-crazed town's adoration and make him a Philly sports legend overnight. If they don't, after taking the minimum, he won't be at the very top of the list of players to blame. LeBron surely has had visions of what it'd be like to be part of a ring night at Madison Square Garden. On Tuesday, he'll get the chance to see one up close ... from the visitors' bench.