LeBron James is a Philadelphia 76er. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer has signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the 76ers, a genuinely massive pay cut from the $52.6 million he made with the Lakers last season — a clear signal that, at 41, James is chasing one more championship over one more paycheck.

James called it “my last decision.” “I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point?” he wrote. “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.” He had, by his own admission, seriously considered retirement: “I thought I was done when the season ended.”

A Full-Circle Moment With Mike Gansey

The most specific, human detail in the entire story belongs to 76ers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey. Two decades ago, Gansey and James were competing for the same honor — Ohio’s Mr. Basketball — with Gansey finishing runner-up in 2001, the year behind James, who won the award as a sophomore, the first of three times. Now 43, Gansey is the executive who just landed his old rival to anchor a championship push. Two Ohio contemporaries, on opposite sides of the biggest decision of either of their careers, more than twenty years later.

What LeBron Means for the 76ers’ Championship Odds

LeBron James joins a projected starting five of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid — a lineup that combines for 36 All-Star selections and five MVP awards. The market noticed immediately: DraftKings moved the 76ers from 20-1 to +900 to win the NBA Finals, and from +750 to +370 to win the Eastern Conference, following the announcement.

Philadelphia noticed too. Bryce Harper, speaking before a Phillies game against the Yankees, put it simply: “Obviously, he’s one of the greatest ever to do it. He’s done it for a long time… But the city is on fire about it. I mean, how could you not be? It’s LeBron James.” Harper, who knows a thing or two about a marquee free-agent signing reshaping a Philadelphia franchise, saw a parallel: “Looking back on it, obviously, I think my signing kind of changed the trajectory of the last seven years. Like, if I don’t sign here, you never know what other free agents aren’t going to come or are going to come.”

Per the team’s own announcement, LeBron James enters his 24th NBA season with his fourth franchise, having won titles with Miami in 2012 and 2013 and with the Lakers in 2020, where he became the first player ever to win Finals MVP with three different teams. The No. 1 overall pick in 2003 is, by most accounts, in the conversation for the greatest to ever play the game — and he’s chosen Philadelphia to write whatever comes next.

Welcome to Philadelphia, LeBron. The city has a way of matching intensity with intensity, and if this really is your last decision, you picked a fan base that will run through walls right alongside you to make sure it ends the way you’re hoping it will.

About Post Author

Allan Lane

Philadelphia born and bred, Allan Lane is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of digital magazines. He launched his first publication, SportBikes Inc Magazine in 2010, followed by dosage MAGAZINE in 2019. Recently, Allan launched his third online publication, Club For Man. As a journalist, Allan covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, art, and motorcycles.

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