LeBron James returns to NYC, but these aren't the Knicks he's used to playing at Madison Square Garden
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 3, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
No one knows for sure if this is the last time LeBron James will take the court at Madison Square Garden.
There have been no farewell tour plotted or announcements that this is the last time in town. But even if the 40-year-old James isn’t providing hints, it’s hard not to wonder.
He’s already gotten the opportunity to play with his son Bronny. He’s made his way to the top of most categories in the record books. And even if he isn’t sure, speculating that he’s got another year or two in him — and why would he call it the end when he continues to mock the notion of aging, averaging 23.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists in his 22nd season? — it’s safe to assume that he’s arriving with the intention of making one more magical moment on the favorite stage of stars for decades.
He’s celebrated on this stage so many times already. In James' 32 games at the Garden, he’s averaged 28 points, slightly better than his overall career numbers, and had a run earlier in his career in which he seemed to make history every time he took the court. There was a 50-point, 10-assist performance in 2008 and a 52-point, 11-assist night the next season. In 2010, there was a 32-point triple-double. In 2023, he compiled a 28-point triple-double.
James has been the star of the show in the spotlight of New York City, winning 23 times and forcing the Knicks to take a back seat on their own court. And he still may be that star — it's no accident that the game will be played in prime time before a national television audience — but unlike many of those years, this version of the Knicks is not the Washington Generals to James' Harlem Globetrotter efforts.
He’s not the only star who has sought out moments at Madison Square Garden. Kobe Bryant relished his opportunities at the Garden, including a 61-point showcase. Even in his final game there in 2015, with no official word, he made sure to wave goodbye to the crowd as he made his way into the tunnel, leaving the floor for what would be the last time.
It’s the favorite place for nearly every star, often even more cherished than their home court. But consider some of these recent stars to step into the spotlight.
- Nikola Jokic with 17 points and 6-for-15 shooting.
- Ja Morant with 10 points and 5-for-13 shooting.
- De’Aaron Fox with 14 points and 6-for-20 shooting.
Even when Anthony Edwards recently put up 36 points, in his regular-season return to the Garden, former Knick Julius Randle scored only eight.
The allure of the Garden hasn’t diminished, and the desire of these stars to showcase themselves on the New York City stage hasn’t changed. But the Knicks have. They are 32-16 and in third place in the Eastern Conference; the Lakers are 27-19 and fifth in the Western Conference — behind the teams the Knicks beat in their last two games.
And the Knicks have begun to flex the defensive muscle that they anticipated in the summer when they traded a huge haul of draft picks for Mikal Bridges and signed OG Anunoby to the richest contract in franchise history.
“We’re just doing a good job of getting the defense going,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “No one ever judges us about this team’s offensive firepower, but, you know, I understand that we haven’t shown the best version of ourselves defensively, and I think that these last couple games, we've been able to show execution on that side.
“I think we’re doing a good job of just utilizing what we have. We have a lot of athleticism one through five. And for us to have that athleticism to match the IQ, I think we're just being great at the point of attack, the physicality and making teams turn the ball over. [That’s] something we’re doing really well right now.”
Keeping James in check will be another challenge for a team that has taken these tests head-on lately. In Anunoby, the Knicks have a player who can physically match up with him as well as anyone. As Tom Thibodeau likes to say, guarding players like James is not tasked to one player but to a team defensive effort. And in recent weeks, the Knicks have begun to show that they are defending as a team.
“I think at times we’re trying to buckle down defensively,” Josh Hart said. “We’re switching and we’re doing it properly. We’re communicating. We’re not giving up slip layups or threes behind the screen or anything like that. We’re communicating at a high level and just making teams see bodies. That’s something we’ve got to continue to do. Earlier we were winning games with our offense, now we’re winning games with our defense.”
And that may be the way they will have to do it Saturday night, when LeBron James will want to put on a show at least one more time.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
