Timothee Chalamet Reveals Booing Heat’s LeBron James in Madison Square Garden Debut: “Why Didn’t You Come to the Knicks?

LeBron James and Mind the Game co-host Steve Nash interviewed Timothee Chalamet on their podcast in Los Angeles.

Timothee Chalamet Reveals Booing Heat’s LeBron James in Madison Square Garden Debut: “Why Didn’t You Come to the Knicks?

LeBron James and Knicks superfan Timothee Chalamet (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • Timothee Chalamet expressed his admiration for LeBron James, calling him his basketball GOAT.
  • Chalamet recalled booing LeBron during his debut with the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden.
  • LeBron James discussed how moving to Miami helped him unlock his full potential as a player.

Hollywood star Timothee Chalamet is a die-hard New York Knicks fan, but still took the time out to appear on Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James‘ podcast, Mind the Game, when he was in the city.

He was there for a special screening of his movie, Marty Supreme, at the DGA Theater. With that opportunity, the King and his podcast co-host, Steve Nash, decided to hold a special interview with the 30-year-old actor on the theater’s premises.

Before the event started, Chalamet’s mother, Nicole Flender, had a heartwarming moment with the four-time champion, and the Call Me By Your Name star ended up labeling James his basketball GOAT.

Generally, the latter has a lot of fans, who also happen to be die-hard supporters of their own respective city’s franchises. Then, there are others whose ‘hatred’ for James stems from that same support for their own team(s). In Chalamet’s case, he has experienced both sides of it.

LeBron’s first game on the Heat in New York, I was there. I was booing LeBron, I said, ‘Why didn’t you come to the Knicks?’ … He killed it, he crushed it. By the end of the game, I was front row, I snuck down.

Timothee Chalamet revealed

It seems it was the Dune star’s love for LeBron James that led him to be disappointed in the then-Cavaliers superstar for not choosing his beloved New York Knicks instead of the Miami Heat. Now, Chalamet refers to the forward as his GOAT.

LeBron James reveals reason he chose to join Heat

While talking about the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks, the topic came up on why he chose to join the former, especially since LeBron James was essentially the King of Cleveland at that point.

Pat Riley and LeBron James after their 2nd championship win
Pat Riley and LeBron James after their second championship win (Image via Bleacher Report/X)

My first 25 years of existence basically was at home. So even when I was a professional for the Cavs, I was still living in Akron… It took me to get uncomfortable going to Miami and experiencing something new for me to tap into something I didn’t even know I had, or I knew I wanted.

LeBron James said

The four-time league MVP pointed out how he might have needed to get out of his comfort zone to know what he needed to do to get where he wanted to be.

That led him to join the Heat, which helped him realize in a lot of ways what he wanted out of life. Be it excelling at basketball, finally tying the knot with longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson.

LeBron James’ documentary inspired Timothee Chalamet

After joking about LeBron James’ basketball greatness and how Timothee Chalamet was disturbed by it at one point, he revealed how the all-time leading scorer’s 2009 documentary inspired him.

I had that aspiration, that Jose Alvarado, whatever you want to call it, that kind of that, ‘dream big mentality.’… His whole career, but more than a game. 2009 documentary about LeBron in high school and his classmates, his best friends. That was hugely impactful for me, man. That’s the life I aspired to have. I didn’t find it in athleticism, but I was able to find it in acting.

Timothee Chalamet revealed

The Manhattan native admitted that he could not follow in James’ footsteps and achieve athletic greatness, something he would have liked to do.

Instead, it inspired him to carve out his creative genius, which helped him play the role of Marty Mauser, who is loosely inspired by American table tennis legend Marty Reisman.

It seems he was giving credit to LeBron James for inspiring this run of Oscar nominations after earning his third after Call Me By Your Name and A Complete Unknown. Since Chalamet is also a producer on Marty Supreme, he is also nominated for Best Picture.

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