LeBron James wanted to sign with Knicks instead of Lakers?

LeBron James’ decision to join the Los Angeles Lakers has largely been validated by last year’s NBA championship. One reporter says things could have been a lot different, though.

In an appearance on the “Brian Windhorst & The Hoops Collective” podcast, Vanity Fair’s Lisa Robinson said that James had wanted to sign with the Knicks in the summer of 2018, but his wife objected.

“We heard that LeBron wanted to come to New York,” Robinson said, via Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “And I have really good sources about this, that he was thinking about coming to New York but that his wife wanted to be in Los Angeles, wanted the kids to go to school in Los Angeles, and that just kiboshed the whole thing.”

Maybe this isn’t so far-fetched. After all, it’s easy to interpret this old quote as being an admission from James that his decision came down to either the Lakers or Knicks. Even now, James still has nice things to say about the Knicks, and he seems to root for them a little bit.

At the time, Knicks then-president Phil Jackson’s treatment of Carmelo Anthony was said to work against the team when pursuing James. Maybe the reality is James’ wife just wasn’t on board.