LeBron James is the most prominent figure in basketball. With that level of fame comes plenty of criticism, but also adulation. Throughout his career, he has developed many close relationships with players around the league.

Warriors star Draymond Green being one of the closest.

Green believes the ongoing discourse surrounding James ultimately dissuaded the 41-year-old from signing with Golden State this summer.

“I ultimately don’t think Bron was ever able to get over the history and I understand it, I get it. What we all ultimately always knew is that’s the hurdle to get over.

“We live in a day and age where everybody who doesn’t have anything to say have something to say,” Green said on his podcast posted on Tuesday.

“And so, he’s gonna get crushed if he comes to the Warriors, ‘Ah man you went to team up with Steph, ah man you had to go to them.’ And ultimately I think that weighed in on the decision a lot, that played a big role in the Warriors not landing LeBron.”

According to Rich Paul (James’ agent), the decision to reject the Warriors was extremely tough for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

It appears the final suitors in the free agent sweepstakes were the 76ers and Golden State, which is a surprise given the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers appeared to have an edge given James had won three of his four NBA championships with the two organizations.

But Green believes James ultimately signed a two-year, $8 million deal with Philadelphia after weighing the public criticism he’d receive over joining arguably the biggest rival of his storied career, the Warriors.

From 2015-18, the Cavaliers and Warriors squared off in the NBA Finals four consecutive postseasons. James led Cleveland to its first title in franchise history during an improbable 2016 championship run where the Cavaliers faced a 3-1 deficit.

The Cavaliers won the series 4-3 after a thrilling Game 7 win. At that time, the best matchup in basketball was James versus Curry.

Based on Green’s remarks, it appears the heated rivalry played a role in James’ free agent decision.

NBA fans had witnessed the undeniable chemistry between James and Steph Curry at the Paris Olympics in 2024. Watching the duo stateside would have been magical, but Golden State likely wouldn’t have been a championship team even with James.

In the twilight of his career, James is looking to win a farewell title and Philadelphia presented the best option for him to do just that.