LeBron 76ers signing puts Embiid and Philly’s new superteam on the clock
LeBron James has joined the 76ers on a two-year, $8 million deal, raising the stakes for Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
4 min read
The LeBron 76ers signing has turned Philadelphia’s long-running chase into a very loud win-now bet: ESPN reported that James chose the Sixers on a two-year, $8 million contract after weighing his future for 24 days.
James announced Friday on X that he still wanted to compete for another championship and believed he could help make Philadelphia a title team, according to ESPN. League rules kept the Sixers from confirming the deal until he officially signed Sunday night, the report said.
The move comes after a dramatic Philadelphia reset. ESPN reported that Bob Myers, now president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns the 76ers, replaced Daryl Morey, added Jaylen Brown and landed James as the finishing swing around Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and young guard VJ Edgecombe.
One NBA coach told ESPN that Philadelphia’s “Process” era is over and that the franchise has reached the point where it must deliver around Embiid. The Sixers’ previous high-profile swings with Jimmy Butler III, James Harden and Paul George did not get the team beyond the second round, according to ESPN.
Why did LeBron sign with the 76ers?
People close to James told ESPN that he thought he might be finished when last season ended, but later felt he still had meaningful basketball left. ESPN reported that James liked Philadelphia’s talent, basketball IQ and his comfort with Myers and new general manager Mike Gansey, whom he has known since their Ohio high school days.
James also had significant conversations with Embiid during the recruiting process, according to ESPN. Embiid had publicly nudged James toward Philadelphia, at least jokingly, as far back as 2014, and the two played together for the United States in Paris in 2024.
Rich Paul, James’ agent, told ESPN that he long believed Miami could be the landing spot. Paul said returning to a place where James had already won so much with the Heat created a different kind of question because those achievements could not be duplicated or topped.
The Heat briefly became the center of online frenzy when a team employee accidentally published a proposed introductory news conference date for James, ESPN reported. Sources told ESPN the employee had scheduled vacation and was trying to prepare in case James picked Miami.
What does this mean for Joel Embiid?
ESPN framed Embiid as the central basketball question. The center played 57 regular-season games across the past two seasons, and ESPN noted that James played more games last season at age 41 than Embiid did over that two-year stretch.
Embiid also missed games in both of Philadelphia’s 2026 playoff series, though ESPN reported that was because of emergency appendicitis surgery, not his knees. Still, people close to James told ESPN he admired Embiid’s skill and feel for the game while sharing league-wide questions about his durability.
One league source close to the situation told ESPN that a lineup with Maxey, Edgecombe, Brown, James and Adem Bona would not be a championship team, but replacing Bona with a healthy Embiid would be. The same source said Embiid could be the reason Philadelphia wins, with James helping him get there.
How will the new Sixers fit together?
That is the basketball squeeze. An Eastern Conference executive told ESPN that acquiring Brown was a worthwhile risk and getting James on a minimum deal was outstanding, but wondered who would screen, defend and do the less glamorous work on a roster full of players used to having the ball.
Two Sixers sources told ESPN that adding Brown and James could affect Edgecombe’s development by taking touches away from him. An NBA coach countered to ESPN that Edgecombe could learn more from those veterans and would likely still carry regular-season responsibility because the team may not stay healthy all year.
Brown brings recent championship credentials after winning 2024 Finals MVP, while Embiid was the 2023 NBA MVP, according to ESPN. James arrives with four Finals MVP awards and four league MVP awards, giving Philadelphia a wild amount of hardware and an even bigger burden.
ESPN reported that Maxey celebrated the news with a video referencing his former Kentucky coach John Calipari, known for landing elite talent. The party part is easy in July. The harder part starts when Philadelphia has to turn its crowded star cast into a team that can finally finish the job.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.