LeBron James Had a Surprising Suitor in Free Agency. It Didn’t End Well for Them.

LeBron James spent two decades fighting the Boston Celtics. In the playoffs, in the regular season, in the Eastern Conference finals that defined his prime. So when he hit free agency at 41 years old, the idea that the Celtics would come calling felt like something from an alternate timeline.

But they did. According to a report from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Boston was among the teams that reached out to LeBron before he agreed to a two-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics, a franchise that treated James as public enemy No. 1 for years, apparently thought they could flip the script and bring him in.

The timing is what makes this weird in a specific way.

LeBron ultimately chose Philly, where he’ll play alongside former Celtics star Jaylen Brown. Brown left Boston earlier this offseason in a move that reshaped both teams. If Boston still had Brown on its roster, maybe that pitch looks different. Maybe you sell LeBron on a supergroup. But Brown was gone, and the Celtics were left trying to recruit someone who once broke their hearts in seven-game series.

The Clippers made their pitch too

McMenamin’s report also mentioned the Clippers offered LeBron a one-year deal worth more than $20 million. That move would have let him stay at his Brentwood home while playing for a team that never quite figured out how to win big. It was a comfort play: stay in LA, get paid, don’t move your family.

LeBron said no to that too.

The Sixers, meanwhile, landed a 41-year-old legend who still averaged 28 points last season and will now try to turn Philadelphia into a real threat in the East. Pairing him with Brown gives them two guys who can create their own offense and a front office that’s willing to gamble on a short window.

For Boston, missing out on LeBron means they move forward with the group they have. No blockbuster. No shocking reunion. Just the reality that even in the twilight of his career, James still picks his spots carefully.

There’s some irony here, sure. The Celtics spent years trying to beat LeBron. When they finally tried to join him, he went somewhere else. That’s the way these things go sometimes. The rivalry doesn’t always end with a handshake. Sometimes it ends with a missed call from Danny Ainge’s old phone line.

Philadelphia now has two of the biggest names in the sport on the same roster. Boston has to answer the question: can they win without matching that kind of star power? They’ll get their chance to prove it starting in October.