Report: LeBron Considered Signing With Rival In East

LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this summer, but he probably considered joining the Toronto Raptors before making his final decision. Going east?

Well, nobody thought that the king of basketball considered going east. The information was confirmed by Joe Vardon of The Athletic during an appearance on the Yahoo Sports NBA: Chris Mannix podcast.

“I think at one point, Toronto was king of a dark horse there. I think there was some sniffing around on both ends,” Vardon said.

LeBron said he considers signing with several teams, including the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets. However, the Raptors were not even mentioned.

“I definitely thought long and hard about the possibilities of lining up alongside Ben [Simmons] and [Joel] Embiid, or lining up alongside [James] Harden and Chris [Paul],” LeBron said in July.

“I felt like at this point in my career, the ultimate for me — just like when I went to Miami, everyone kind of looks at me joining a super team. I think Miami was [47-35] the year before I joined the team. You look at the Lakers’ record. So I like the challenge of being able to help a team get to some places they haven’t been in a while, and obviously the Lakers haven’t made the playoffs in a few years, but the Lakers’ organization and historical franchise matches up there with all the greats. You can look at the Cowboys, you can look at the Patriots, you can look at Manchester United, the Boston Celtics — these are like historical franchises, and for me to be a part of that, it’s a great moment for not only me but also my family, and the history of basketball in general.”

LeBron may have considered Toronto, but he is definitely happy to land in Los Angeles. That was more like a dream come true, as LeBron said after inking his deal.