Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: edie falco, HBO, james gandolfini, lebron james, lebron james the sopranos, new york knicks, rocco caruso, the sopranos, the sopranos finale

Real The Sopranos End Lost? Tony Made LeBron Knicks Offer He Refused

Published Wed, 28 Apr 2021 12:38:11 -0500

by Jeremy Konrad

Comments

The Sopranos ended on June 10th, 2007. I know this because I vividly remember what I was doing when I watched it. I am from Cleveland, and my Cavaliers were playing in their first-ever NBA Finals, led by LeBron James, also making his finals debut. I was in a hotel room in Monroeville, PA, in town to help install a new store for the company I was working for at the time. I struggled with which epic event to watch: the ending of one of the greatest pieces of art ever put on film, or my hometown team I spent my whole life rooting for playing for NBA glory. I chose the Sopranos. When the infamous ending happened, you could hear multiple people in the hotel screaming at the TV. I just sat there basically hyperventilating, the tension from that final five minutes unbearable. I will never forget it. Turns out though, that was not the last time LeBron James and the show's fates intertwined.

L-R: LeBron James arrives at the 2013 ESPY Awards at the Nokia Theater on July 17, 2013 in Los Angeles, CA. Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com | James Gandafini, known as Tony Soprano in The Sopranos, signs autographs outside the Bada Bing on October 1, 2003 Lodi, NJ. Editorial credit: Eugene Parciasepe / Shutterstock.com

LeBron Was Never Heading To New York, The Sopranos Or Not

Apparently, the cast of The Sopranos reunited for a pitch video to try and lure LeBron to playing in New York with the Knicks when he was a free agent in 2010. A lot of times, with bigger stars, teams will pull out all the stops to try and woo athletes to their cities with vacations and all sorts of things, including celebrity interactions and such. That was the case here. "They thought wouldn't it be funny if we could somehow start the piece with The Sopranos because it had just more or less ended," Producer Rocco Caruso recalled. "And I said I know Edie … I could send her an email, and she said 'Great. I'll do it."

"I do remember doing it and what is absolutely amazing to me is I didn't know who LeBron James was," The Sopranos actress said, laughing. "We got those requests all the time back then and Jim Gandolfini, he did nothing. And somehow he agreed to this thing, which I was shocked by. I thought it was a prank when someone said Jim's going to do it."

They filmed it in Gandolfini's apartment and explained that Tony had a giant beard because he was in witness protection. The premise of the scene was the Sopranos were friends of James and they were going to find him a place to live, which was ultimately Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks play. But you know what this means right? This is the secret ending to The Sopranos! Tony and Carm went into witness protection after leaving the diner, and he lives his life hooking up his friends with homes as a secret real estate mogul. It all makes sense now! Hopefully, someone has this scene and we can see it, not only because it sounds hilarious, but also because I miss James very much.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!