Stephen A. Smith Says Knicks Title Canceled His Planned LeBron James Pitch

The commentator said he would have gone on national TV to urge LeBron James toward New York if the Knicks had lost; their 2026 title made the pitch unnecessary.

Stephen A. Smith has disclosed a recruiting effort he never got the chance to carry out. The commentator said he intended to use his national television platform to urge LeBron James to sign with the New York Knicks if the team's 2026 playoff run had ended without a championship. Once the Knicks captured the title, the plan lost its purpose.

Smith's readiness to extend that appeal drew attention because of his history of friction with James. Their relationship soured in public view in March 2025, when James confronted him at a Lakers-Knicks game over remarks Smith had made about Bronny James. Smith has since discussed the rift in interviews, including a 2026 session with Graham Bensinger. His allegiance to the Knicks, he explained, led him to a different calculation.

James, for his part, verified that New York was a genuine option. In a session with ESPN's Dave McMenamin at 76ers media day, he said he had "visions" of playing at Madison Square Garden and seeing out his career in the building, which he ranked among the finest venues he has competed in. He also acknowledged that the door closed once the Knicks were champions, since that signing was not something he was willing to make after a title had already been secured.

The scenario had grounding in reporting. NBA.com wrote in June that James would depart the Los Angeles Lakers and test free agency, well before he picked Philadelphia. He has since begun his 24th NBA season as a 76er, pairing with Joel Embiid in a move back to the East. According to NBA.com, James treated the change as the closing challenge of his career after giving serious thought to retirement during the summer.

New York, meanwhile, ended a drought stretching back to 1973. The Knicks took the Finals from the San Antonio Spurs in five games, behind a 45-point Game 5 from Jalen Brunson that earned him Finals MVP. The triumph marked the franchise's first crown in over half a century.

The playoff run carried a resilient quality. New York rallied from deficits of 10 points or more on several occasions, most dramatically in Game 4 of the Finals, when it overturned a 29-point hole. NBA.com credited the Knicks with 13 consecutive playoff victories and the most lopsided scoring margin ever recorded across a single postseason. The group responsible — Brunson alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart — required no outside addition.

That success is what ultimately settled the question. Smith said everything changed the moment New York won, because the season's central aim had already been fulfilled and a public courtship of James no longer made sense. James approached his decision the same way, letting the postseason outcome shape his choice and leaving the Madison Square Garden idea as a possibility that never reached the court.

The sequencing also framed how each man told his side. Smith waited until the result was decided before describing the steps he had in mind for an alternate ending, while James's media-day comments showed the New York idea began with him rather than with outside chatter. James wanted the Garden, Smith stood ready to lobby him on the Knicks' behalf, and the championship made both moot by finishing the job.