The New York Knicks celebrated their NBA championship Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, yet hardly anything went according to plan. And LeBron James found himself smack dab in the swirl of the fierce and funny festivities.
James made his Philadelphia 76ers debut memorable, helping his new team defeat the Knicks, 106-100. Asked by NBC sideline reporter Zora Stephenson if he was enjoying spoiling the Knicks’ ring night, James grinned and said, “Yeah, I do. It’s pretty special.”
Last seen in Los Angeles bidding a hasty farewell after eight seasons with the Lakers — Times columnist Bill Plaschke wrote that “He left before the door could hit him in the butt” — James, 41, began his 24th NBA season by contributing 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the 76ers’ victory.
And James did so even while jawing with courtside Knicks fans about using a helicopter to commute from his new home in New York to Philadelphia. Of course, famed director and Knicks fan fixture Spike Lee couldn’t stay out of it.
“Hey, LeBron, just because you have a helicopter and you live in New York doesn’t mean we’re gonna cheer for you,” one fan yelled, according to NBC broadcaster Mike Tirico. Another fan dinged James for being soft simply because he lived in L.A. for so long.
James couldn’t let that one go, yelling back, “Ain’t nothing soft in the Midwest. I don’t know what the f—- you talking about. I’m not from the West Coast, I’m from Ohio, baby.”
Lee, resplendent in a bright orange and blue pinstriped suit with matching hat, stood from his front-row seat, seemingly serving as conciliator. Much of the exchange was caught on camera by NBC, with Tirico and fellow broadcaster Reggie Miller providing commentary.
“[James] said hello to somebody over here,” Tirico said. “Spike Lee is over for a look and a chat. … LeBron is taking the helicopter rides back and forth from Philadelphia to New York and engaged here in some front-row convo.”
Miller chimed in, “That’s the last thing you wanna do is get LeBron going here in this building…. And guess who’s playing peacemaker? Spike Lee! He’s over here playing peacemaker. Boy, I have seen everything.”
Fanatics is supplying James with the helicopter as part of a multiyear, exclusive trading card and collectibles contract signed in 2024. Although the deal raised the antenna of investigative reporter Pablo Torre — who won a Pulitzer Prize for uncovering the Clippers’ salary-cap circumvention with Kawhi Leonard — NBA commissioner Adam Silver called the helicopter arrangement “perfectly appropriate.”
Silver was at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. The Knicks celebrated their first NBA championship in 53 years with a ring ceremony and raising a banner to the rafters. They did their best to laugh off a typo on the T-shirts fans received that proclaimed the team as the 2026-2027 champions.
Despite the testy exchange with fans and enduring their “We don’t want you” chant while he shot free throws, James softened what he had said to Stephenson, sidestepping a suggestion by a reporter that the 76ers ruined the Knicks’ celebration.
“I wouldn’t say that,” James said. “It was a great night for New York fans. Fifty-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. The fans will never forget this moment.”
The post LeBron James’ eventful 76ers debut: jousting with Knicks fans, defending helicopter, spoiling ring night appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
