The debut of basketball icon LeBron James for the Philadelphia 76ers turned the visit to the legendary hall “Madison Square Garden“ into a real spectacle. The Sixers' new superstar led his team to a valuable 106:100 victory over the defending champions New York Knicks, but the evening was also marked by a tense verbal incident on the court.
The home fans welcomed the superstar extremely unfriendly, reminding him of the speculation from before the start of the campaign, when his possible transfer to New York was among the main topics in the NBA.
The tension escalated when a spectator from the front rows provoked the winger by shouting:
„We don't need you here, get back to your West Coast!“
The reaction LeBron, who will turn 42 in December, was swift and emphatic:
“There's nothing soft in the Midwest. What West are you talking about? I don't understand anything. I'm not from the West Coast. I'm from Ohio, man. What nonsense are you talking about?“, the basketball player replied.
Despite the provocations from the stands, the veteran demonstrated full concentration on the court and was among the main drivers of the success of the Pennsylvania team. In his first official match in a Philadelphia jersey, James distinguished himself with close to “triple-double“ indicators — 14 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
With this success, the Philadelphia 76ers opened the campaign with a huge psychological advantage over one of their direct rivals for the Eastern Conference title.