LeBron James heading to Philly in deal with 76ers

▶ Watch Video: ESPN’s Shams Charania breaks down how LeBron James chose to play for Sixers

LeBron James is coming to Philadelphia. The four-time NBA champion and the league’s all-time leading scorer announced Friday he’s joining the Sixers for the 2026-27 season, which will be his 24th as a pro. 

“This is my last decision. I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family,” James wrote on X. “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.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves were reportedly mentioned as other suitors for James, but the Philadelphia 76ers won the sweepstakes.

ESPN reports that James is signing an $8 million, two-year contract with a player option.

What signing LeBron James means for Sixers

The Sixers are going for it. 

It’s been 43 years since the Sixers last won the NBA Finals, and 25 years since the team got past the second round of the playoffs. 

The addition of James means one thing: the team and its president of basketball operations, Mike Gansey, are going all in on a championship in what could be the last season of The King’s storied career. 

James said on Friday, “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.”

James, who will turn 42 in December, will slide perfectly into the power forward spot in the Sixers’ starting lineup with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid to form the most feared lineup in the league.

Even though James is the oldest active player in the NBA, he’s still playing at an incredibly high level.

James made his 22nd All-Star Game last season and averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games. 

James gives the Sixers the size and rebounding they needed at power forward in their starting lineup. He also provides some secondary ball-handling to get Maxey off the ball, which should allow head coach Nick Nurse to get creative with the team’s rotation. 

Surely there will be nights where James puts up 30 points and fills up the box score, but the Sixers should have enough firepower in Maxey, Embiid, Brown and Edgecombe to allow him to play in a secondary role.

Of course, Embiid’s health will remain a big question heading into the 2026-27 season. He’s only played in 96 regular-season games over the last three seasons. 

Embiid returned from an emergency appendectomy in the first round and had the best playoff performance of his career to help the Sixers rally to a historic series win over the Boston Celtics. But he missed a game in the second-round series against the New York Knicks, as his body failed him again, and Philadelphia got swept. 

Embiid’s health will be paramount for how far the team will go in the postseason, even with the addition of James. 

How Mike Gansey rebuilt the Sixers in one offseason

Gansey replaced Daryl Morey as the team’s president of basketball operations in May and rebuilt the Sixers in weeks. 

While landing James is the biggest move Gansey has made so far, he’s made others that have helped improve the Sixers. 

The James move would’ve never happened if the team hadn’t acquired Brown in a blockbuster move with the Celtics that sent Paul George and draft picks to their Eastern Conference rival. Rich Paul, James’ agent, said on an episode of his podcast that the Brown move “changed everything” for the Sixers as a landing spot for his client. 

Before that, Gansey began free agency by signing forward Dean Wade, who spent the first seven years of his career with the Cavaliers. Wade was set to become Philadelphia’s starter at power forward, but now will be a depth piece with the signing of James. 

Gansey also added scoring off the bench by drafting University of Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. and signing veteran guard Anfernee Simons, who spent last season with the Celtics and Chicago Bulls. 

In free agency, the Sixers also signed former New York Knicks center Ariel Hukporti to add depth to the frontcourt with Adem Bona and added guard Caleb Love and forward Rayan Rupert on two-way contracts.

One day after landing James, ESPN reports that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope agreed to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and plans to sign a one-year deal with the Sixers. 

Caldwell-Pope played alongside James in Los Angeles as part of the Lakers’ 2020 championship team. He also won a championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023.

What to know about Sixers signing LeBron James

James became the biggest free agent on the market when he told the Los Angeles Lakers he wasn’t returning after eight seasons with the team. 

Throughout the free agency process, the Sixers continued to be linked to James through various reports. 

According to ESPN, the Sixers began expressing interest in James right after trading for Brown. 

Not long after that, Paul pulled out a whiteboard on his “Game Over” podcast with Max Kellerman, showing the Sixers among other teams that could be James’ next destination. 

On another episode of Paul’s podcast, Bob Myers, the president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Sixers, made a pitch to James that his best option is Philadelphia. 

Paul spoke highly of Sixers players like Maxey, another Klutch client, and the team’s new front office, which includes Gansey and executive vice president of basketball operations Jameer Nelson. 

Gansey has ties to James going back to high school and was in the front office with the Cavaliers during The King’s second stint in Cleveland when he won a championship. 

Gansey, an Olmsted Falls, Ohio, native, finished second in Mr. Basketball voting behind James in high school. Gansey’s brother, Steven, sent social media into a frenzy when he posted a photo of the two in high school on July 1. 

Maxey, Embiid and Brown were in communication with James and recruiting throughout the process, with their star guard leading the charge, according to ESPN. 

The last time the Sixers were in the James sweepstakes, they fell short. They were an up-and-coming team, but he decided to head to Los Angeles. 

This time, the Sixers landed the plane.