It was his first press conference with his new team, his first appearance in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform, and LeBron James used the occasion to tell Philly fans how much he would have liked to have played in New York.
“I had visions of playing in (Madison Square) Garden and finishing my career in the Garden,” James said at the team’s media day last week. “One of the best places I’ve ever played. I think it’s the No. 1 arena in the world, as far as for a basketball player. But after they beat San Antonio, I was like, ‘Hey, I can’t.’ I couldn’t do it.”
And, as if that weren’t enough to make fans question his loyalty, James left the South Jersey, suburban Philadelphia practice facility in a helicopter bound for New York City
“I ain’t gonna lie, that was funny,” said his new teammate, Tyrese Maxey, who was dealing with car troubles that day. “One of us left in a helicopter, the other one was sitting on the curb.”
Also left at the curb are millions of adoring Philly fans who thought James would be a prominent member of their community.
In July, the 41-year-old James signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Sixers after stops in Cleveland, Miami and Los Angeles, winning championships in each city.
To be fair, James isn’t the first larger-than-life basketball star to commute to Philadelphia from New York City.
Sixty years ago, hall of famer Wilt Chamberlain famously lived in a Manhattan apartment on Central Park West and commuted to Philadelphia for games and practices during his tenures with the Philadelphia Warriors and 76ers.
Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain, star center for the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, gets set to try out the car he won as Most Valuable Player in the playoff series against the New York Knicks in a parking lot near a New York City restaurant on May 11, 1972. (AP Photo)
But Chamberlain, like James, a four-time MVP, didn’t fly in a helicopter. Instead, he flew in a purple Cadillac El Dorado.
Chamberlain maintained a residence in the City of Brotherly Love, but spent most nights in the Big Apple where he owned a popular club, Small’s Paradise, in Harlem.
According to reports, Chamberlain even hitched a ride from Hershey, Pennsylvania, back to New York in 1962 with Knicks players after his legendary 100-point game.
In his book, “Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door,” Chamberlain said the Philadelphia media resented him for living in New York.
“I had missed one practice that week — just one — because I had the flu, and the press had played it up big,” Chamberlain wrote. “They had always resented my living in New York, first with the Warriors and now with the 76ers; they thought it was an insult to Philadelphia.”
LeBron James of the Philadelphia 76ers poses for a portrait during media day at the Philadelphia 76ers training complex on Sept. 28, 2026, in Camden, New Jersey. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
While James may be cutting a potential two-hour drive down to a 45-minute flight, the luxury commute isn’t resonating with blue-collar Philly fans.
“Damn he hate Philly that much?” one fan wrote on X. “He dipped to NY still wearing his Sixers uniform from Media Day.”
“Every single one of the guys on the team could afford to leave practice in a helicopter if they wanted to,” another fan wrote. “Only one did. What does this say about Lebron?”
The helicopter is a bad look. It’s also a bad idea.
More than six years have passed since Kobe Brryant, 41, and eight others, including his daughter, died in a California helicopter crash.
In this Jan. 26, 2020, photo, firefighters work the scene of a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif., that killed Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
Still, it’s too soon to see another basketball legend take the same risk.
The Knicks open their season in defense of their title on Oct. 20 in a game against James and the 76ers. It’s a home game for the Knicks. It’s kind of a home game for James, too.
He won’t need the helicopter for this one. Maybe he’ll just catch a cab.