Rich Paul said the New York Knicks would have been the easy choice for LeBron James, had they not won the 2026 NBA Championship. We'll never truly know.
But the superstar's willingness to play out the 24th season of his career with an Eastern Conference squad in the Atlantic Division, with several All-Stars already on the roster, in an effort to end a championship drought was confirmed on Friday. James agreed to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, veteran's minimum contract with a player option.
By joining the Sixers, James gets exactly what he wanted from the Knicks — a chance to end a title drought in a big market. It's just the next best thing.
At this point, he should honestly be hoping to match up against New York in the 2027 NBA Playoffs. Even if Philadelphia had homecourt advantage, it'd give James the chance to close out his career in front of a crowd full of Knicks fans.
LeBron wanted to end his career by basking in Knicks' title glory
This year, it was impossible to ignore just how special the month of June was to the city of New York. After the Knicks won their first NBA Championship in 53 seasons on June 13, the team and city's celebrations lasted the entire rest of the month — and have even spilled into July.
Every member of the Knicks' championship roster has seen their name etched into NYC eternity. It's the exact kind of jubilance and glory that James was hoping to get in on before calling it a career. He had several opportunities to sign with the Knicks, and help deliver a title to the fanbase most bereft of one, throughout the course of his career.
Instead, he seemingly opted to save them for later. Perhaps it was under the assumption that the Knicks' drought would persist for as long as he needed. The organization's desperate fans would surely still welcome him with open arms. Anything for a ring, right?
Wrong. New York — thanks to Leon Rose, William Wesley, Mike Brown, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby's fingertips, and plenty of other heroes — got the job done on their own accord.
The 53-year championship drought was wiped entirely away, as a result. Even franchise legends like Clyde Frazier and Patrick Ewing served as legitimate members of the effort. And, as Paul said himself, it's what took the Knicks out of the running for James. That shouldn't be any kind of problem for those faithful to the orange and blue.
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