LeBron James made his regular season debut for the Philadelphia 76ers in their season-opening game against the defending-champion New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden tonight. In the first half, the 41-year-old got an early taste of the hostile New York crowd.

First, James stepped to the free-throw line and faced chants referencing his comments from earlier this summer, when he said he would have joined the Knicks in free agency if they hadn’t won the championship last season.

“We don’t want you!” the crowd yelled at James during his free-throw attempts.

Fans chant “WE DON’T WANT YOU!” At LeBron James. #Knicks #AlwaysKnicks #NewYorkForever

— Justin J. Lopez (@stellar_jl319) October 20, 2026

Later, near the end of the first half, LeBron James exchanged heated words with a Knicks fan on the sidelines who seemed to be telling him to go back to the West Coast.

“Ain’t nothing soft from the Midwest. I don’t know what the f–k you talking about. I’m not from the West Coast. I’m from Ohio, baby; I’m not a Midwest kid; I’ma Ohio, baby. F–k are you talking about?”James seemingly said this during the heated exchange.

FULL LEBRON JAMES AUDIO:

“Ain’t nothing soft from the midwest, I don’t know what the f-ck you talking about,

I’m not from the west coast. I’m from Ohio baby, I’m not a midwest kid, I’ma Ohio baby. F-ck is you talking about.”

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) October 21, 2026

Reggie Miller also noted on the broadcast that Spike Lee, a die-hard New York Knicks fan who usually supports anything Knicks-related, was forced to step between the fan and James as a peacemaker.

“There comes LeBron, let’s see who he was having words with over here… That’s the last thing you want to do is get LeBron James going here… And guess who’s playing peacemaker? Spike Lee! He’s over here playing peacemaker, oh boy, I have seen everything,” Miller said on the live broadcast.

Mike Tirico also mentioned on the broadcast that crowd members were calling out LeBron James, saying that just because he lives in New York and flies in by helicopter doesn’t mean New Yorkers will support him.

Moreover, NBA insider Brian Windhorst revealed earlier this week that James always wanted to be drafted by the Knicks and not the Cavaliers. But these comments clearly didn’t earn him any sympathy from the Madison Square Garden crowd.

How LeBron James Explained His Decision To Snub Knicks In Free Agency

Earlier last month, LeBron James spoke with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and explained why he didn’t consider joining the Knicks this summer.

“I had visions of playing in [Madison Square] Garden and finishing my career in the Garden,” James said. “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.”

“Y’all wouldn’t have let me lay that down at all,” James further added. “But much respect to the Knicks, obviously. An unbelievable team, unbelievable players. Shout out, Jalen Brunson. I love that guy; he’s unbelievable. But, yeah, I’m happy where I’m at, and I’m looking forward to it.”

LeBron James’ return to Madison Square Garden was met with a hostile welcome as Knicks fans made their feelings about his free agency decision crystal clear.

While James remains respectful of the Knicks, his decision to join the 76ers has only fueled the rivalry and set the stage for this memorable night in the Big Apple. It will certainly be interesting to hear what James has to say about tonight in the postgame media scrum.