LeBron James told the Los Angeles Lakers this month he will not return for a ninth season, and the Philadelphia 76ers have positioned themselves as a serious — perhaps the serious — suitor for the 41-year-old’s next chapter.
The groundwork was laid July 1, when the Sixers traded Paul George and four draft picks to the Boston Celtics for Jaylen Brown, a five-time All-Star coming off a sixth-place MVP finish. Hours later, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on NBA Today that Philadelphia was “trying to make a pitch” to James. The Athletic’s Tony Jones named the Sixers among the teams expressing interest. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst pointed to a quieter advantage: Tyrese Maxey, like James, is a Klutch Sports Group client.
Since then, the courtship has moved beyond back-channel feelers. NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that Sixers owner Josh Harris had a brief, friendly conversation with James on July 17 during a VIP event at Fanatics Fest in New York. According to a source cited by the same outlet, Harris — along with Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Jaylen Brown — have all personally let James know they want him in Philadelphia.
The roster Philadelphia has assembled is the kind of thing that used to get built in a laboratory before someone called it tampering. Embiid, Brown, Maxey, VJ Edgecombe — who finished third in Rookie of the Year voting — and newly signed forward Dean Wade form a starting five that would absorb James without asking him to carry the freight. The Sixers also added guard Anfernee Simons in free agency and drafted Alabama’s Labaron Philon Jr. with the 22nd pick. That last name is the “Labaron” circulating in fan discussion about a potential Philadelphia superteam.
James is no stranger to the Eastern Conference, having played for both Cleveland and Miami. Those two franchises remain in the mix, along with the Golden State Warriors — where ESPN’s Anthony Slater reports James’s representatives have indicated the Warriors remain on his short list, though perhaps not at the top. The Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves have also registered interest.
The stakes are obvious. James has four championships. Michael Jordan has six. A title in Philadelphia, alongside a roster this stacked, would not close that gap — but it would give James a fifth ring on a team he chose rather than inherited, in a conference he knows how to win.
Fan discussion has framed the Philadelphia pursuit in exactly those terms: chasing Jordan’s ghost. The logic, such as it is, holds that winning with a newly assembled contender carries more weight than latching onto an already-finished product. Whether James shares that calculus, nobody with a microphone has confirmed.
What is confirmed is that the league is waiting. John Hollinger of The Athletic reported that chatter around a Trey Murphy trade has quieted but not vanished, with league business effectively on hold until James decides. Multiple teams’ offseason plans are parked behind one man’s choice.
James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games last season. He is expected to take his time.
Liberty Ballers, the Sixers’ SB Nation community, ran a headline that captured the mood of Philadelphia’s fan base with characteristic restraint: “LeBron is going to be a Sixer (yes, this is real).”
Sources
- USA Today — LeBron James to Sixers? Rumors heat up after sudden Jaylen Brown trade
- Bleacher Report — New LeBron James Rumors Reveal 76ers as Landing Spot After Blockbuster Jaylen Brown Trade
- FanSided — NBA Rumors: LeBron meets with 76ers owner, Trey Murphy trade waiting on LeBron
- Liberty Ballers — Sixers Trade Rumors