LeBron James 'Thought Long And Hard' About Joining Rockets, Sixers

LeBron James revealed he considered joining the Houston Rockets or the Philadelphia 76ers but ultimately decided to go for the "ultimate" challenge by signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Just a few days after becoming an unrestricted free agent, James signed a four-year deal with the Lakers earlier this month and will now look to bring a championship back to the Staples Center for the first time since 2010.

As he unveiled his I Promise public school Sunday, James revealed how he was proud to play for a historic franchise, especially as he used to worship its president of basketball operations Magic Johnson when he was growing up.

But speaking more about the move in an ESPN interview on Monday following the opening ceremony of the school, the 33-year-old mentioned how he thought of the many possibilities where the next stage of his career could end up.

"I definitely thought long and hard about the possibilities of lining up alongside Ben [Simmons] and [Joel] Embiid [at Philadelphia], or lining up alongside [James] Harden and Chris [Paul] [at Houston]," James said. "I just 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 superteam, but if people look at it, I think Miami was [47-35] the year before I joined that team and you can look at the Lakers' record -- so I like the challenge of being able to help a team get to some place they haven't been in quite a while."

Despite improvements from the previous season, the Lakers finished with a 35-47 record last season and have failed to make the playoffs since 2013.

The Sixers, in contrast, are one of the most exciting, young teams in the league who made the second round of the playoffs, and with James no longer at the Cleveland Cavaliers, can consider themselves one of the favorites to lead the Eastern Conference next season.

The Rockets, meanwhile, were just one game away from defeating the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.

But despite both teams having better chances than the Lakers as of now, in delivering James a championship, the Akron native is excited by the prospect of being part of a historical franchise.

"Obviously, the Lakers haven't made the playoffs in a few years, but the Lakers organization and the historical franchise matches up there with all the greats -- you can look at the Cowboys, and you can look at the Patriots, you can look at Manchester United, the Boston Celtics -- these are historical franchises and for me to be a part of that, I think it's a great moment for not only me but for my family and for the history of basketball in general," he said.

James still believes he has years left in his prime and his goal of winning championships still remains the same, even if he and the Lakers end up coming short.

"Listen, I plan and I train and I set my mind every single day to play for championships," James added. "And Magic and Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka], they believe the same thing. So when you're around people who have the same goal in mind, you can live with the result."