LeBron James fires back at Knicks fans in Sixers debut

Knicks fans didn't wait long. LeBron stepped to the line and the Garden started in on him.

This chant is personal. At media day in September, LeBron told ESPN he'd seriously considered the Knicks and had "visions of playing in the Garden and finishing my career in the Garden." He also admitted that joining New York after it won a title would have been a hard sell to the fanbase. Knicks fans heard all of that, and on opening night they gave him their answer.

The timing made it worse. This was the night the Knicks raised their 2026 championship banner, a title they won without him. Then the guy who wanted to finish his career in their building showed up in a Philly jersey. In July he took a 2-year, $8 million deal with the Sixers, with a player option on year 2, for his 24th season at 41 years old. Philly also traded for Jaylen Brown this summer, so there's real reason to think he picked the team with a shot at a ring.

LeBron didn't just stand there and take it. A fan apparently lumped him in with the Lakers years, and LeBron set the record straight on where he's from.

NBACentral

@TheDunkCentral

BRON STANDING ON BUSINESS “I’m not from the west coast, I’m from Ohio baby, f*ck is you talking about?”

That's 23 years of road crowds talking. He spent 7 seasons in LA, but the Akron kid has never let anyone forget Ohio, and he wasn't letting some guy at MSG rewrite his bio in the middle of a game.

Then it got even more New York. Spike Lee, who has spent a lifetime getting into it with opposing stars from his courtside seat, was the one who stepped in to tell the heckler to cool it.

When Spike Lee tells you you've gone too far heckling at the Garden, you've gone too far. It was a hostile first chapter for LeBron in Philly, and the Sixers come back to MSG later this season. If the Knicks fans saved anything for the rematch, it'll be loud.