Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James spoke with a fan Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden during the Sixers’ 106-100 victory over the New York Knicks.
James appeared to respond to a fan calling him “soft,” as he hit back by saying, “There’s nothing soft about the Midwest. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not from the West Coast, I’m from Ohio, baby. … What the fuck are you talking about?”
At one point, famous director and longtime Knicks fan Spike Lee stood up from his usual courtside seat and apparently tried to communicate something to LeBron:
According to Dan Gelston of the Associated Press, Lee was “trying to play peacemaker” at the time.
Gelston also mentioned Knicks fans’ chants of “We don’t want you” directed at James after James recently admitted he might have signed with New York if the franchise hadn’t won the NBA championship last season.
It was a celebratory night at MSG with the Knicks raising their first championship banner since 1973, but LeBron and the Sixers effectively played the role of spoiler.
James, 41, did a little bit of everything in his first regular season game with the 76ers, recording 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, along with nine rebounds and seven assists.
LeBron also had plenty of help with Tyrese Maxey scoring a game-high 28 points, Jaylen Brown adding 19 points and Joel Embiid recording 13 points and 11 rebounds.
It won’t be long before Philadelphia and New York meet again, as the Sixers are scheduled to host the Knicks next week on October 30.
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