Skip to main content

Knicks' 2010 recruitment video for LeBron James resurfaces, featuring James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano


The New York Knicks took a huge swing at attempting to lure LeBron James to town back in 2010 when James was a free agent. On Tuesday's episode of the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast, Pablo Torre shared parts of the recruitment video, which featured characters from "The Sopranos" along with several high-profile celebrities with ties to the Big Apple.

In addition to James Gandolfini and Edie Falco returning to their respective characters from the show, future president Donald Trump, Chris Rock, Robert De Niro and Spike Lee all made cameos in the video.

Unfortunately for the Knicks, it was all for nothing as James ended up taking his talents to South Beach and playing with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as a member of the Miami Heat. James spent the next four seasons with the Heat and won two NBA titles.

James has since won two more championships with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.

Heading into the 2010 offseason, the Knicks were coming off of a 29-53 season under head coach Mike D'Antoni. If James had ended up calling New York home, it likely would've been an uphill battle.

Ironically enough, James could elect to test free agency in the near future since he has a player option on his deal for the 2024-25 season. The Knicks would have a better pitch this time around considering that they are the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs this year.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

NBA Monday Morning Shootaround: LeBron James, The Hunger Games, and More - Bleacher Report

Welcome to the "Monday Morning Shootaround," Bleacher Report's recap of the weekend that was in the NBA. Along with getting you caught up on the weekend’s playoff action, we’ll give you a sneak preview of what could potentially be the greatest basketball book of all time, show you the best 70-year-old playground superstar ever, and tell you about a young star that just might choose religion over the fame and fortune of the NBA. The Opening Tip * ABC cameras caught LeBron James reading The Hunger Games before the Miami Heat played the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Shortly thereafter, the Miami Heat small forward proceeded to go into full Katniss Everdeen mode to the tune of 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists as the Heat pulled out a hard-fought 101-93 victory. After a slow start, Heat guard Dwyane Wade finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists of his own. But Sunday afternoon was all about James and his gaudy numbers, virtually all of which we...

Breaking Down the Differences Between LeBron James and Kevin Durant - Bleacher Report

LeBron James and Kevin Durant are being coined as "the future of the NBA 's next generation." That is certainly true, but they aren't exactly on the same level. LeBron and Durant are two different players, who bring varying skills to different facets of the game. Instead of just comparing them in a "who's the best" fashion, let's take a minute and break down which player excels in each and every facet of the game of basketball. Ahead is a breakdown of the differences that exist between LeBron and Durant.  Scoring Ronald Martinez/Getty Images LeBron 2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 27.1 points, 53.1 FG%, 36.3 3P%, 77.1 FT% Durant 2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 28.0 points, 49.6 FG%, 38.7 3P%, 86.0 FT% Scoring is what Kevin Durant does. It's not only his specialty, it's also what makes him such a dangerous and elite player. With that being said, LeBron isn't exactly a slouch on the offensive side of the...

Luka Dončić joins LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Jerry West as only Lakers to post 30 points and 15 assists in a game

LeBron James joined a club of one on Tuesday , while Luka Dončić joined a club of four. With 30 points and a Lakers career-high 15 assists, Luka Dončić became only the fourth player in Lakers history to post those totals in a single game in a 136-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The other three: James, Magic Johnson and Jerry West. We'll call that a solid group. That performance included a stretch of three straight 3-pointers to set the tone in the first quarter. It was once again the LeBron and Dončić (LeBrončić?) show, as Dončić's co-star posted 34 points on 10-of-18 shooting, eight rebounds and six assists. Center Jaxson Hayes also had one of the best games of his Lakers career, scoring 19 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting plus 10 rebounds. Dončić was two points away from tying his Lakers career high in points as well, and likely would have gotten it had L.A. not taken its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter. After a back-and-forth first half in which the P...