LeBron James is heading to the Philadelphia 76ers. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer announced the move on social media Friday, calling it his “last decision” after seriously considering retirement. He’ll sign a two-year, $8 million deal on the veterans’ minimum — down from the $53 million he made last season in Los Angeles.
James, who turns 42 in December, will join his fourth franchise after stints in Cleveland, Miami, and the Lakers. He walks into a Sixers lineup that already features Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Jaylen Brown — the 2024 Finals MVP acquired from Boston in a stunning offseason trade. Philadelphia hasn’t won a championship since 1983 and hasn’t escaped the second round since 2001.
The announcement sent the usual shockwaves. Jerseys sold out within hours. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro declared Friday LeBron James Day. Tyrese Maxey posted a video of himself screaming in a gym.
One voice came from further away.
In a video clip shared online, Derrick Rose — the youngest MVP in NBA history, now retired — was asked about James’s decision. His response was brief.
“I’m out of the game. Happy for him, but that’s not my life no more.”
Rose and James share a history that runs deeper than most rivalries. Rose’s Bulls and James’s Heat collided in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, a five-game Miami win that ended Rose’s MVP season. Rose later called James the toughest opponent he ever faced.
“Bron was the only one that thought like a point guard that wasn’t a point guard,” Rose said in a 2025 interview. “He wouldn’t score early, or sometimes he would start scoring early, and he was smart enough to make the adjustment. I hated that.”
The feeling ran both ways. James has spoken about Rose with undisguised admiration, calling him “one of the most explosive players that I’ve ever played” against and “one of the most competitive players I ever played.”
“I hope dearly people have not forgotten about Derrick Rose,” James said. “Injuries suck. They really do. And he’s one of those examples.”
Rose was 22 when he won MVP in 2011, the youngest ever. Then the knees went, and they kept going. He played for five teams after Chicago, never again the player who turned the United Center into a thunderdome every night.
James celebrated his Sixers decision with an Instagram highlight reel set to Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares,” the video ending on the lyric “hold up, wait a minute. Y’all thought I was finished?” before cutting to a 76ers logo. Fanatics had his No. 23 jersey on sale for $125 and sold out within hours.
Rose is 37 and retired. James is 41 and still grinding. The gap between them is measured in cartilage and luck.
Watch
Sources:
- AP via DC News Now — LeBron James is heading to the Philadelphia 76ers
- NBA.com — LeBron James free agency: