So this is pretty interesting fodder heading into the weekend. Edie Falco, who famously played Carmela Soprano on HBO’s mega hit that ran through the aughts.
Speaking with The Atlantic’s podcast this week, Falco said that back in the day, she and James Gandolfini would be asked often to do spoofs and reinactments and James turned them all down. Till the Knicks came calling.
In 2010, The New York Knicks were, like all other NBA teams, desperate to get LeBron James to play for their team. So they hatched a plan to lure him using The Soprano’s as the messengers.
“I thought it was a prank when someone said he’s going to do it…[and then] there he was, dressed as Tony. He must have been a bigger basketball fan than I realized.”
The video didn’t do the trick and James decided to head to South Beach and join the Miami Heat. “I couldn’t believe that it didn’t work,” Falco said. “Not so much because of ‘The Sopranos.’ I just thought it’s New York. How does anyone say no to New York, for God’s sake? But he did!” The Atlantic attempted to track down the short film as part of the podcast, but the publication achieved no success.
“The Sopranos” ended its run in 2007 after six seasons and 86 episodes. The show won 21 Primetime Emmy Awards across its run. Later this year, Warner Bros. will release “The Sopranos” prequel movie “The Many Saints of Newark” in theaters and on HBO Max.