Over a decade ago, LeBron James became arguably the biggest and most highly-anticipated free agent in NBA history. With every team looking to entice James to come aboard, the New York Knicks apparently went great lengths in trying lure him. According to this article by Bethy Squires of Vulture, the Knicks tapped into The Sopranos star James Gandolfini in an attempt to bring The King to The Big Apple.

As Squires notes, Gandolfini's co-star Edie Falco, who played Carmela Soprano in the crime-drama TV series, guested on Chuck D’s podcast Shattered: Hope, Heartbreak and the New York Knicks and revealed details of the whole ordeal. Of course, as everybody knows, New York's peculiar effort to attract James wasn't interesting enough.

James ultimately decided to take his talents to South Beach and joined forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat. Together, the star trio made four trips to the NBA Finals and won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.

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As for the Knicks, they did attract a star in Amar'e Stoudemire in that same summer. Eventually, they also landed Carmelo Anthony, whom they acquired via trade midway through the 2010-11 season. However, Stoudemire had a history of knee issues and his decline came fast.

After making three straight postseason appearances to start the Melo era, the Knicks eventually fell into irrelevancy.Their mediocrity continued on throughout the 2010's as they ended up near the bottom of the league standings almost every year.

Fast-forward to today, James is with the Los Angeles Lakers and led them to a title last season. Meanwhile, the Knicks, though the laughing stock of the league over the past decade, are arguably the best feel good story of the NBA this 2020-21 season. Led by All-Star forward Julius Randle, New York is poised to not just make the playoffs, but finish with a top-4 record in the Eastern Conference standings.