LeBron Explains Why He Snubbed Knicks for 76ers After Leaving Lakers in NBA Free Agency

The New York Knicks' championship triumph took them out of the running before the LeBron James sweepstakes fully kicked off.

"I had visions of playing in [Madison Square] Garden and finishing my career in the Garden," James told ESPN's Dave McMenamin . "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."

The 22-time All-Star added that the NBA media "wouldn't have let me lay that down, at all" if he had joined forces with a team that just won a title.

James has always been very purposeful with his decisions on and off the court.

In terms of his NBA legacy, there probably isn't much more the 41-year-old can do. He's universally considered one of the greatest players ever, but he faces an unbridgeable gap on Michael Jordan, at least in the view of those who put MJ ahead of him.

That doesn't mean James has stopped thinking about his career in narrative terms.

Just ask Kevin Durant how much winning a title can be discredited when you join an established power. Fair or not, his critics will always judge him for signing with the Golden State Warriors after they won 73 games and were one victory away from a second straight championship.

KD's relationship with Warriors fans was a little fraught , too. Such was the bargain when he teamed up with three stars (Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson) so closely identified with the organization's success.

For LeBron, it might've been something similar on the Knicks when Jalen Brunson is now a sainted figure in New York sports lore.

James was never going to sign with a rebuilding team with so little time left in his career. He can't put a franchise on his back in the same way he could a decade ago, and he can't operate mentally more than one season at a time.

The Sixers presented him with an ideal situation where the roster should be good enough to compete for a championship, but they're far enough away from being the finished product that LeBron should be able to dodge the ring-chasing allegations.