LeBron James is signing a two-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. The NBA legend is now teammates with Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
After news broke that James was joining the 76ers, he went on social media to talk about the blockbuster move.
“I thought I was done when the season ended,” James wrote on his X account. “I wasn’t ready to announce it, and I knew I needed some time to really decide, but I was pretty sure I played my last game. I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and decide if I still love this game. I still truly love this game, and I have more to give.
“The last few weeks have really been special. I’ve never been able to have no clue what to do and take real time to just think. I’ve had an incredible few months with all the people I love trying to figure it all out. This is my last decision. I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point? I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.
“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time. Thank you LA. Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always home!”
When James was a free agent in the summer of 2018, he considered signing with the 76ers before ultimately joining the Los Angeles Lakers. James is close with Maxey and Embiid, as Maxey and James have trained together and share the same agent (Rich Paul) and Embiid and James were teammates on Team USA in the summer of 2024.
Arguably the greatest player in NBA history, James played in 60 games last season, his 23rd year in the NBA. He averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game for the Lakers, who are now building around Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and newcomer Walker Kessler in the post-James era.
In the 2026 playoffs against the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, James put up 23.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. The Lakers beat the Rockets in the first round in six games. However, James and Co. lost to the Thunder in the second round in four games. Dončić didn’t play in the playoffs because of a severe hamstring injury, so James was the No. 1 option for LAL and performed well.
James, who has been in the NBA since 2003, is a four-time MVP, four-time champion and four-time Finals MVP. He’s the all-time leader in points, field goals, minutes and games.
The 76ers have never advanced past the second round of the playoffs in the Embiid era. That will likely change next season with James in the fold next to Embiid, Maxey, Edgecombe and Brown.
James, 41, holds career averages of 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game in the regular season and 28.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game in the playoffs with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Lakers. He won the 2012 and 2013 championships with the Heat, the 2016 championship with his hometown Cavaliers and the 2020 championship with the Lakers at the Walt Disney World Bubble.
