Three days and countless jersey Photoshops later, it’s still sinking in that LeBron James is a Philadelphia 76er. The novelty of the Jaylen Brown trade had only just started to wear off when James made the shocking decision—the last one of his career, according to the man himself. Now, all of a sudden, Philly is the most interesting team in the entire NBA: a fascinating mix of personalities and play styles, with enough upside to contend at the top of the Eastern Conference. Sorting through the changes and ripple effects is dizzying, so we assembled our staff to answer not one, not two, not three, but six big questions about LeBron’s decision and the new-look Sixers.
1. Did LeBron make the right decision?
Michael Pina: My personal preference was always that LeBron would go to the Denver Nuggets, teaming up with Nikola Jokic to create some of the most seamlessly beautiful basketball in the league. But that never felt realistic. My initial reaction to him choosing Philly was shock, which has obviously worn down over the past few days. Now, I mostly admire it and think it’s by far the most fascinating and fun move that was on the board. Watching Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, and LeBron strive to sacrifice for the greater good will be one of the season’s most intriguing story lines.
Danny Chau: As an utter sap, I still would have rather LeBron played out his final season(s) in Cleveland, but I get it. You probably wouldn’t be able to draft the Sixers starting lineup in a fantasy basketball league—and they have Dean Wade coming off the bench! History tells us that late-career ring chasing rarely works, but LeBron isn’t the typical chaser, standing alone across time as a top-20 player in his 40s. As much of a no-brainer as the Brown trade was for Philadelphia, it did drum up a sort of tension as far as usage goes. LeBron’s signing alleviates that to an extent. The Sixers were in need of a binding agent to allow the many layers of top-end scoring talent to cohere. It’s hard to imagine a better deus ex machina than LeBron James.
J. Kyle Mann: I don’t like being the guy who digs up his own receipts—much less the one who obnoxiously waves them around—but I broke my policy when LeBron announced he was heading to Philly.
I will qualify this by saying that it didn’t really occur to me that the Sixers were the best choice until I really sat down and accounted for all of the factors. After the Doncic experience, I never really loved the idea of LeBron opting into a decidedly worse (and aging) version of helio-ball with James Harden. The Heat would’ve figured out a way to make it work, but I don’t know if you’ve heard: LeBron is 41 years old; he shouldn’t be subjected to a prolonged “figuring it out” phase. Like a lot of people, I was charmed by the idea of LeBron playing with Steph Curry or with Jokic. But Philadelphia’s in-house perimeter talent in Maxey (whose scoring average got up to over 30 points per game at times last season) and the ascendant VJ Edgecombe, combined with proven incoming commodities like Brown and even Anfernee Simons, don’t create any natural dissonance with how LeBron likes to play. In fact, it’s the opposite. They harmonize with his genius as a playmaker. The fit will lessen his burden. Did you notice how I didn’t even mention Joel Embiid? The Sixers have a recent MVP who is either icing on the cake or trade fodder to help them fortify some areas of weakness.
Howard Beck: I reject the premise; this isn’t a right-or-wrong situation. LeBron is 41 (and a half!), so he gets to decide what’s “right.” As a hopeless sentimentalist, I loved the idea of LeBron joining Steph—rivals as allies, the whole Apollo-Rocky thing—to try to make one last run in their twilight. That was the most appealing narrative, by far. A return to Cleveland would have been cool, too. The Philly move feels supremely weird, but if LeBron wants a legitimate shot at a fifth ring, the Sixers were the most logical option.
Isaac Levy-Rubinett: Personally, I was pretty captivated by the idea of LeBron teaming up with Curry for an old guys’ last stand. But LeBron himself tweeted that his decision ultimately came down to wanting to compete for a fifth championship, and I’ll grant him that Golden State would have given him basically no shot. So, given his stated priorities, I think he made the right call! The Sixers will have chemistry and tactical questions to sort out, but the bones of the team make far more sense than the hypothetical LeBron Cavaliers. Minnesota would have been interesting, the Lakers sure could use LeBron at the vet minimum, and I’ll always believe the fit in San Antonio would have been ideal. But compared with all those teams and the other remaining finalists, the Sixers really do balance the opportunity to win with the narrative heft and star power that can support the entire LeBron James Experience. I was pretty shocked when the news was announced on Friday, but with the benefit of a few days to mull it over, I’ve come around—and I’m not surprised that LeBron saw something most others couldn’t.
More on the LeBron Trade
2. Who would you pick in a seven-game series: the Sixers or Knicks?
Beck: Assuming full health (for both teams), it has to be the Sixers. It’s hard to see the Knicks containing Maxey and Edgecombe, and dealing with Brown and James, and finding a way to keep Embiid out of the paint—especially after losing their best rim protector, Mitchell Robinson, in free agency. It’s fair to wonder whether the Sixers can blend all of those individual talents and whether Embiid and James will last until May. But if they do, it’s hard to see anyone in the East taking them down.
Pina: Even if this hypothetical could guarantee 100 percent health for everyone involved, it’s the Knicks. Here we have a team that just won the championship and rolled back pretty much its entire roster (with Andre Drummond replacing Robinson); along the way, New York swept Philadelphia in humiliating fashion. The Sixers have an incredible amount of talent, but the pieces don’t naturally fit beside one another on either side of the ball. This experiment can click, but it’s just hard to picture what that would look like against such a competent and confident opponent. The Knicks are significantly deeper, have more reliable shooting, and won’t fold in crunch time.
Chau: Until we have proof that Embiid, in his current state, can play more than 60 regular-season games and hold up beyond the conference semifinals, I’ll go with the Knicks. The Sixers have leveled up in so many areas, but the one void that remains is a reliable backup 5—never mind one with enough lateral mobility to handle Karl-Anthony Towns both on the drive and from 28 feet out. With Embiid off the floor, the Sixers will be able to trot out some small-ball lineups reminiscent of the Warriors’ Death Lineup, but that would require LeBron to operate at center, which might not be in the old geezer’s best interest.
Levy-Rubinett: The Knicks. I actually think the new-look Sixers are more talented, and I expect them to find a healthy equilibrium that makes good use of their five high-usage starters. But the terrifying memory of New York’s 29-point comeback in the Finals is perhaps a touch too fresh for this Spurs fan. The Knicks levitated to a higher plane of cohesion and togetherness last season—built on shared experience and lots of reps—and the Sixers are just too new to reach that level in year one.
Mann: After what we saw in the spring—both in these teams’ second-round series (which got to the point where the Knicks were smacking the Sixers with their own hands and yelling “QUIT HITTIN’ YOURSELF! QUIT HITTIN’ YOURSELF!”) and in the playoffs as a whole—it would be insulting not to pick the Knicks, and I would still give them a slight edge because of how rock solid their identity became during that homestretch. That said, Philly’s roster is going to be colossally different. (No fucking duh.) Philly has added multiple seasoned players with playoff experience, two of whom have excelled in the Finals and one of whom is arguably the most seasoned Finals player of all time aside from Bill Russell. Additionally, they have the draft capital to add a big at the deadline. So could the Sixers beat the Knicks in a series? Yeah, I think they could.
3. Which of the bridesmaid teams is most intriguing moving forward: Cleveland, Golden State, Miami, or Minnesota?
Levy-Rubinett: The Warriors, and not in a good way. To varying degrees, Cleveland, Miami, and Minnesota have reason to feel hopeful heading into next season. By contrast, the Warriors are just depressing. They didn’t even win the Mario Hezonja sweepstakes! Curry is 38 years old, Jimmy Butler is 36 and injured, and Draymond Green is 36 and unsigned. Landing LeBron would have produced the greatest show in basketball, even if not the greatest team. Without him, they’ll be neither, and I am fascinated to see how (and where—gulp) the rest of Steph’s career plays out.
Mann: I’m extremely skeptical about any of those teams winning it all, but for other reasons, I’d say Minnesota. I’ve joked about the risk that it took in trading for LaMelo Ball: In relieving some of the on-ball pressure that Anthony Edwards has faced against higher-quality opponents, it really took a bite out of its identity. But holy moly, am I excited to watch this team. Ant and LaMelo are going to be either a total disaster or the most electric and fun perimeter tandem in the league. They might be both on a nightly basis. I’m going to watch that.
Pina: I can’t wait to watch Giannis Antetokounmpo problem-solve on the Miami Heat. Will their offensive system look like it did a year ago, eschewing the pick-and-roll for a more up-tempo, read-and-react approach? How will Erik Spoelstra create space in the paint for a frontcourt that can’t stretch the floor? Will their defense switch 1 through 5, inflict a swarming zone, or get hyper-aggressive in an attempt to score off turnovers in the open floor? Who will be their backup center? Why isn’t Bradley Beal on this team? There are so many questions!
Chau: The Wolves. I wrote a whole piece about it!
Beck: Where is the “meh” emoji? I need that one. It’s hard to be intrigued by the Cavs after their colossal face-plant in the conference finals. It’s hard to be intrigued by the Warriors, even with Steph, given how little help he has (at least until Butler and Moses Moody get healthy). I’d be mildly intrigued by the Heat if they had even a single capable playmaker next to Giannis and Bam Adebayo. So I guess it’s the Wolves by default. At a minimum, the Ant-LaMelo pairing will be incredibly entertaining.
4. Which new teammate will LeBron help the most?
Mann: If you really zoom out, it’s Embiid. LeBron’s presence will create a lot of interesting layers for how the Sixers can function. Last season, there were two silos of offense within this team; the guards could go and get theirs in almost any situation, and Embiid would run parallel to that, able to get his in small doses when he was able to take the floor. The latter will still be true, and it’ll be intensified by Jaylen Brown’s isolation and transition potency as a scorer—they’ll rely on him in late-clock situations to create rim pressure, draw fouls, and score contested points. LeBron can allow those processes to play out naturally, but he can also step in with handoff actions, transition hit-aheads, and cuts. I described it before, but that symbiotic relationship will also lower the demand on LeBron to play balls to the wall all the time. But furthermore, that dynamic will really give Embiid some cushion to slow-play the season and feel less of an imperative to be 100 percent of what he’s been in the past.
Pina: LeBron is a natural complement to just about anyone, but I think having one of the most cerebral passers who ever lived will really allow Maxey to cook off the ball in ways he couldn’t before. Whether he’s setting an inverted ball screen, leaking up the sideline off a missed shot, back-cutting his defender along the baseline, or driving a gap that was created on the weakside against a team that’s loaded up to slow James down, Maxey’s breadth of scoring opportunities should mushroom next season.
Beck: Probably Brown, who could learn a lot from LeBron about shot selection, passing angles, leadership, and how to stay off Twitch.
Chau: Maxey, who fits the mold of costar that has often thrived next to the King’s sphere of influence. LeBron is more athletic than any 41-year-old with 1,924 career NBA games on the odometer has a right to be, but this past season made it abundantly clear that his purest advantage these days is his all-time-great processing power. Pairing James’s synaptic decision-making with Maxey’s game-breaking end-to-end speed is intoxicating.
Levy-Rubinett: What Chau said: Maxey is the kind of supercharged guard that LeBron has gone out of his way to make space for throughout his career. And when the greatest player of the 21st century empowers and defers to you, that means something—just ask Austin Reaves. From strictly a basketball perspective, Maxey and LeBron will create all kinds of opportunities for each other in transition, and Maxey’s speed and ability to pull from anywhere will be like toys for LeBron to have fun with as a hub in the half court. Off the court, the two Klutch clients are already close, and Maxey should benefit from the injection of the NBA’s most meticulous, prepared superstar into the chaos of the Process-era 76ers.
5. Which Sixer will have to make the biggest sacrifice?
Chau: The same Sixer who has made the biggest sacrifices (in one form or another) for the past decade. Philly’s massive star acquisitions this offseason reinforce the idea that Embiid is no longer at the center of the franchise’s universe. We tend to think of sacrifice in sports as a relinquishment of ego—the counting stats go down, the hustle plays go up. But traditional notions of sacrifice are also what the Sixers are hoping to avoid with Embiid, who has repeatedly suffered the consequences of pushing his body past its limits for short-term gains. What that sacrifice looks like on the court remains to be seen—after all, even in his hobbled form, he’s still the most dominant scorer on the team on a good night—but it’s become clear that the Sixers view divesting themselves of Embiid’s influence as the most fruitful path forward.
Beck: LeBron, although only as a scorer. His ball handling and playmaking won’t require much reduction. His usage should go down at age 41 (and a half), especially when he’s got the luxury of so many scoring threats around him. Hot take: He won’t mind taking fewer shots and setting up Maxey, Edgecombe, and Brown. LeBron arrived 23 years ago as a playmaking virtuoso who loved passing as much as shooting, and he’ll go out the same way.
Pina: Last season, Brown averaged 28.7 points per game while taking literally the most shots in the entire league. He finished second in usage rate, third in isolation plays, and 11th in total frontcourt touches. All these numbers are about to plummet. Neemias Queta is now Embiid, Derrick White is now Maxey, and Sam Hauser is now LeBron. The ball will not be in Brown’s hands nearly as often as it was last year, during “the most fun season” of his career.
Levy-Rubinett: The one who is entering the most important developmental years of his career. On the one hand, the 76ers’ dramatic reversal of fortune this offseason creates a great opportunity for Edgecombe. On the other hand, that opportunity is shaped a lot more like Mario Chalmers than Dwyane Wade. If everything goes right for Philly, Edgecombe will spend the next season becoming a star role player and positioning himself for an extremely promising NBA career. But the star trajectory is on pause for at least a year or two while the Sixers conduct the league’s most fascinating basketball experiment.
Mann: Brown is the answer here, but that was true even before LeBron joined the fold. For someone who seemed to be drifting toward the idea of being the main guy, this Philly roster is shaping up to be even less of an opportunity for that than Boston's was. But at the end of that day, I think that is the best thing for Jaylen, basketball-wise. Even if he has to bend some on that primary-status ambition, he is at his best when he’s scaled down and compressed into a role where his team isn’t living and dying by his ability to be a high-usage scorer and creator. Maybe he can jam out to some Creed on his livestream.
6. What would it do for LeBron’s legacy to win a title in Philly?
Chau: Nothing, which is kind of why the decision was such a shock. Sustained dominance across three decades of NBA basketball has always been James’s biggest selling point; there’s not much he can do at this point to tell us anything we don’t already know. He’s simply one of the most accomplished athletes that humanity will ever produce. Somehow, there is still some novelty left to pursue in LeBron’s career: He’d be the first player ever to win a championship on four different teams. Yet, in terms of total count, he’d still be behind Jordan (assuming the Sixers don’t repeat, should LeBron opt into the second year of his contract). The strongholds on both sides of the GOAT debate will remain unmoved. That said, being a major reason Philly breaks its 44-year NBA title drought—at 42 years old!—would be an unreal career feat.
Levy-Rubinett: It would give LeBron a championship with every franchise he’s ever played on. It would be a remarkable exorcism of Philly’s (many) Process demons. And it would be a basketball triumph to blend these new pieces and hungry mouths into a championship-level outfit. LeBron’s legacy is already unassailable, but one more title in Philly, of all places, would make for a different kind of storybook ending. He’s conducted his career on entirely his terms, winning at every stop with every kind of teammate. To do it once more would further cement him as the ultimate winner across time and space.
Pina: I don’t think it’ll change that much, to be honest. He already boasts the greatest career in NBA history, owning dozens of unbreakable records as an unimpeachable winner. We already know he’s brilliant. We already know his game is like water flowing through a ravine, able to fit beside any type of player in any kind of system. Without knowing what his role would even be in a championship-winning scenario—is he the team’s fourth-best player?—winning a fifth championship with a fourth organization will surely convince people that he’s the greatest player who ever lived. Just as many will politely ask him to win it all (at least) one more time if he ever wants to replace Michael Jordan on that throne.
Beck: I’ve always been of the belief that LeBron’s legacy is set. When you’re universally viewed as one of the two greatest players ever, there’s really nothing left to be done. And let’s be clear: Nothing is changing the interminable GOAT debate. The Jordan acolytes won’t be swayed by James winning a fifth (or even a sixth) ring. The LeBron loyalists need no further proof. I’m sure a fifth ring—which would tie LeBron with Kobe, Magic, and Duncan—would be meaningful to him. But it won’t change his place in NBA history.
Mann: I will confess that I have shifted on this, and recently. For a long time, I was playing pickup with dudes who were a good deal younger than me, and naturally there would be outbursts of NBA chatter. The wide range of ages would produce a similarly wide range of perspectives, which made for entertaining arguments. One interaction I had has stuck with me, though. A guy probably a decade or so younger than me pointedly said, to my face, “Your generation is just never gonna admit that LeBron is the GOAT.” The aggressiveness of that accusation and phrasing of it unexpectedly put me on my heels. It was the tiniest fissure in the certainty of my experience. To say that I won’t admit it implies that there’s a truth I’m knowingly and stubbornly denying. That’s not true, is it? It’s not like I’d never thought about the possibility that LeBron might be the greatest, but could it be true that I was clinging to a nostalgic bias? As time passes, I’ve found myself revisiting that accusation and feeling less and less sure that this guy was wrong to make it.
Times are so overwhelmingly and undeniably different. The more time passes, the more I wonder whether we should view the accomplishments from Jordan’s era the way we do the Celtics’ titles from the ’60s—incredible feats to be celebrated, but in dire need of context when compared to current circumstances. I really doubt any player will win six titles in a decade ever again, not only because of how talented the league is but also because of how implausible it has become to keep a team together. Michael benefited from league rules, and LeBron has benefited from modern advancements in training and self-preservation. I have found it interesting that a popular move in this debate now is to resort to saying that LeBron has had the “greatest career.”
When the TV outlets put up graphics showing LeBron in all of the different jerseys he’s worn (and won in), I have to say, that was definitely a zoom-out moment of perspective for me. All those varying contexts, that mind-bogglingly dense Rolodex of teammates, the huge shifts of physique, of style of play, of preparation—it’s truly amazing how versatile and enduring LeBron has been. All of this to say: I felt myself shifting on this GOAT debate while I watched a 41-year-old LeBron James control a playoff series against Houston, back in April. His portfolio could be complete now, and I would be more than susceptible to the argument that he’s the greatest. But if he leads this Philly team to a title, I will have to bend the knee and confess that he’s the definitive greatest of all time. The Michael Jordan era will always be my favorite. It wooed me. It romanced me. It created so many of my core memories as a basketball fan. There’s just no replacing that experience. They say we carve our own path in our failure to emulate the heroes that inspire us. LeBron didn’t replicate MJ’s career. He couldn’t have. But his standard will loom just as large and as daunting in the decades to come.
