Video of 'The Sopranos' Pitching the Knicks to LeBron James in 2010 Has Finally Surfaced
LeBron James signed with the Miami Heat during his infamous 2010 free agency. Everyone remembers James revealing he would be taking his talents to South Beach during a live television special on ESPN called "The Decision." What everyone may not remember is the star-studded video that was part of the New York Knicks' presentation to LeBron that summer.
The video famously featured James Gandolfini revisiting the Tony Soprano character for the first and only time since The Sopranos cut to black in 2007. It was most recently discussed in The Athletic's podcast, "Shattered: Hope, Heartbreak and the New York Knicks," but it was first described nearly shot for shot in an ESPN article about LeBron's free agency all the way back in 2010, less than a week before The Decision:
"Tony hadn't been killed off by David Chase after all. He was wearing a beard and living with his wife under the cover of the witness protection program, and Tony was telling Carmela he had an important friend coming to town. A friend who needed a place to stay. A friend named LeBron James."
For more than a decade, that video has been kept under wraps, but the folks at Pablo Torre Finds Out have finally unearthed the full video and you can finally see James Dolan's vision for yourself. Here's the opening featuring Gandolfini and Edie Falco as Tony and Carmella Soprano in witness protection, still very invested in the New York Knicks.
The cheese factor is off the charts as Tony describes LeBron as a "modern guy that respects tradition" and Falco finds 2010's version of a Zillow listing for Madison Square Garden that describes MSG as "classy," "expensive" and "really loud," before the television couple smiles at the camera and Jay-Z starts playing.
Maybe the most amazing part is that this short video was just the beginning. If you watch or listen to the entire podcast you'll see the Knicks' pitch also featured Walt Fraizer, Chris Rock, Willis Reed, Spike Lee, Alec Baldwin, Rudy Guiliani, Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein, among others. Really, what more can you say?
