LeBron James Signs With The 76ers

Bron took 24, 25 days, but he finally made the decision 2.0. He signed with the 76ers. Two-year, $8 million deal with a player option on that second year. He had told us that money was not an option, not really something that he cared about on this this next contract. And we waited, we waited, we waited. Last video we made, we were talking about how everybody was trying to read the tea leaves. Oh, what does this mean? What does that mean? The Miami Heat had a LeBron James introductory press conference live stream scheduled on YouTube, so people are diving into that. He was golfing with Kevin Kevin Hart, who's from Philly. And I guess Kevin Hart did it. Or maybe it was when Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid, all of those guys hit him up and said, "Hey, this is the place you want to be." This lineup is about to be disgusting. Maxey VJ Jaylen. I mean, what a month for the 76er fans, right? Paul George is a first-round pick for Jaylen Brown, all-NBA second-team player. And then you bring in Bron Bron? Bron went on to also go with his own tweet, um, talking about that I was done when the season ended. 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 the last press conference when I said I need to look myself and decide if I still love the 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 think. I had an incredible few months with all the people that I love to figure it out. This is my last decision. Ooh, sometimes I make these videos and I wish I had like a, um, the the soundboard like the streamers cuz that's how I would drop the bomb right there. This is my last decision. I'm not going for money. I'm not going for family. Okay, bro. Um, what am really 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, to have a chance at that feeling of winning another championship. I believe I can help the Philadelphia 76ers a champion make the Philadelphia 76ers 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 be home. That's what I'm assuming. Bron with the mic drop. And now he's going to the Philadelphia 76ers. Wow, wow, wow. We had been past the traditional super team era. Like you think about the last eight championships, we got of course some really dope teams. A lot of those teams maybe built through the draft like a OKC team or built via trades over the last couple years like the last year New York Knicks team, but we haven't had a team that had three all-NBA players on it in quite some time. Like three all-NBA player active all-NBA players. And basically we we have like four if healthy with the 76ers team. So I'm just I'm just so curious. I had mentioned before when we were talking about all of the destinations that LeBron could potentially hit that the 76ers were one of my favorite ones because his passing I think elevates a lot of the people on the team. They have been a team that has some decent playmakers. Joel Embiid has every evolve in his playmaker throughout his career. Jaylen Brown maybe not the greatest but still showed you a lot last season. Tyrese Maxey good. PJ Tucker still working on the going into year three or whatever. Year three? Year two. Oh my god, yeah, he's going into year two which is still crazy. And LeBron James is just one of the greatest passers of all time. I would assume that he's going to be one of the top assist leading guys like like like I remind it's reminded me of like when he was in the bubble. Like this is a lot different I guess as far as talent goes, but when they did let Bron just be the straight up point guard how he led the league in assists. I don't know if he's leading the league in assists cuz we got some great passers and that will have the highest usage like a Haliburton or even a Luka Doncic, LeBron's former teammate. But, I just know that that man's going to get everything involved. And I think that the biggest criticism you may have with LeBron James decision like this is the good old fashioned too many cooks in the kitchen, right? Jaylen Brown just had a season where he was the number one option as the as as a part of the Boston Celtics and he comes to Philly and LeBron comes to the team and it's like, "Oh my god, now is he the fourth option on this team when everybody's healthy? Is he the third option? The second option?" Nobody really knows. Nick Nurse has a lot to really figure out and he's got what, a few months to to really make it happen. This team is going to be really good. Now, I think you can just throw them because of the talent in the upper echelon of contenders, right? Um I don't know if I'll make the statement today. I got to really think about it of them being the heavy favorite going into next season cuz again, it's a it's a lot going on. But, the Eastern Conference went from like, let's just say 5 years ago was like the weaker of the two conference by a wide margin. But, I'm going to read all these teams off that are going to be going for it this season. Of course, the Detroit Pistons, the New York Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors probably are going to have Kawhi Leonard. The Atlanta Hawks just traded a former first overall pick for Lu Dort. They're going to try to be as competitive as possible. Of course, the 76ers. The Orlando Magic probably don't have the talent to compete for a championship, but they got a new coach and a lot of talent. The Miami Heat just acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Boston Celtics still believe that they could be competitive today. That's 19 teams right there. The Indiana Pacers, add them onto the list cuz they got Zubac and a healthy Haliburton. That's 10 teams right there at at the bare minimum. And then we got some teams that I ain't even mentioning. Like the Charlotte Hornets who may soon be traded, we'll figure out what that looks like. Um the Eastern Conference is kind of crazy right now. It's kind of crazy right now and I love it for the sport. You know, I've been having a lot of conversation with people around the league talking about, you know, what tanking looks like now with the 3-2-1 method and so on and so forth. And they were talking about how a lot of the over/under numbers are lower than what they had in the last couple of years because you can't just bake in a win against the Wizards anymore. You can't bake in against a win against the the Brooklyn Nets and so on and so forth. So, it's going to be very exciting for me to see how every other landscape of the Eastern Conference looks at the end of the season cuz there is so so much talent. This is such an interesting one from Dave McMenamin. A source familiar with LeBron's thinking told ESPN that LeBron's choice hinged on a pursuit of a championship like LeBron mentioned in his tweet. After weighing his options, he believed that Philly gave him the best chance to do that. Um so, you look at like a Cleveland team that was just in the conference finals. Yes, they got swept, but just in the conference finals and LeBron could have been the final piece. You look at Miami who just acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron said Philly was the one that had the highest chances with him on the roster. And I don't think that's that crazy to really think. I do think that they're probably missing some like a bunch of glue guys, you know, the the the the guys that help a a a great NBA team become a championship-level team cuz they would do all the dirty work. But, it is so very interesting to see this next chapter for LeBron James. I don't know. Even the Photoshop that Shams used in his report don't look real to me. I mean, it's it's literally not real. He's never worn his jersey before. But, I think it's going to take me some time to really think about it and really get used to it because I don't know. It's [clears throat] it's it's it's nuts. And as I think about that tweet that Dave just put out, I think that I would have I would agree with Bron in that situation where, you know, him adding to the 76ers raises their ceiling higher than raising the Miami ceiling or raising the Cleveland Cavaliers ceiling or the Golden State Warriors ceiling or whatever other team he might have been contemplating. I think I I can agree with that. Um It's It's JoJo, man. It's JoJo's time, bro. If there's any time to have a healthy postseason, it is now. Because of the amount of talent between the other four starters, I think that Joel Embiid could probably play half the season, a third of the season, and and the team would still be really good. Um I think they just need him to have one If there If there's just one healthy postseason run in him, this is the time. One thing I mentioned many times before through the different regimes of the Joel Embiid era, whether they be, you know, Daryl Morey or or the new guy Ganson who just made these these two big acquisitions back-to-back. I just admire that they've tried everything in their power to build the perfect team around Joel Embiid. And you know, people in Philadelphia land would argue that the last trade they did for Jaylen Brown was not about Joel Embiid but more about Tyrese Maxey. Regardless, I just admire that we've had so many different eras under the process, you know, whether it be, you know, him and Ben Simmons and then him and Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler and then him him and James Harden and then him and Tyrese Maxey and Paul George and now it's like boom, we got this another Philly just continues to turn around these star players with the ultimate pursuit of competency, with the ultimate pursuit of an NBA championship. And I feel like this roster they they put together right now and going into the 2026-2027 season is the best that they've had outside of the the Kawhi shot. I really thought that that team was a championship team. Kawhi hit a ridiculous shot and ended everything, but like Jimmy Butler, JJ Redick two-man game with Joel Embiid was one of my favorite. Um, they just I don't know, that team is special to me and I unfortunately for them, Kawhi Leonard went on a legendary run and and you know, ended up hitting that shot and sent them home. But this team, the talent level is ridiculous. Um, I think LeBron showed us last season that he can be malleable, right? Whether it be, you know, when Luka Dončić was not there, he could still be the number one guy and still lead a team to a playoff series win without Luka and Austin Reaves. But when Luka and Austin Reaves were there, he was okay with being the third guy and doing a lot of the the other stuff, the dirty work stuff. And I I think that's also admirable. And they're probably going to ask LeBron to do a good amount of that here. I think this is a good fit for a 41-year-old guy when you have three other guys that I don't know, if you're if you're ranking NBA players right now, those three guys you can argue that those three guys are maybe better than a 41-42-year-old LeBron James. So you don't have to ask him to go out there and average 25-7-7 or even 22-7-7, you know, like he had been over the last couple years. This is a This is a good destination for old man to go out there and get some things done. I I don't know. I don't know. I'm I'm I'm loving it. I'm loving it. And I think I think one of the reason I love it cuz I'm just a player movement guy, you know, internet general manager boo boo boo boo. And I also love it cuz it's done. It's done. Every day I was waking up like, is LeBron going to make a decision? Is LeBron going to make a decision? And then he did he just did it on a July July 20 Friday a Friday in the end of July. Here's an updated depth chart. Um It's pretty good. I mean, obviously there's I think they still have some holes at just the wing. Dean Wade went from, you know, a really nice glue guy starter to now coming off the bench with LeBron being there. Anthony Simons is just a knockdown shooter and because of some of the defensive infrastructure they'll have, I think they could be okay there. Hug Portis and Adebayo as backups to Joel Embiid is pretty good. So, it is a a really solid rotation, I would say. Really solid seven eight man cuz I don't know how much you can trust a rookie, right? Even though LeBron might line. Uh I really like him as a player. It's just a a lot to expect from a guy that was, you know, lately drafted, I guess. Um I think a lot of the conversation though that you'll hear over the next month or maybe the entirety of next season is about, you know, LeBron James ring chasing. And I I've said this before. I know everybody won't agree with this. That's completely okay. LeBron James' legacy is completely set. Regardless of what happens in Philly, regardless of what you think about this decision or whatever whatever, LeBron James is solidified as the greatest or second greatest player of all time depending on your opinions. And I don't know, even though this in in the literal sense it is a ring chase based on LeBron's own tweets and based on Dave McMenamin saying that, you know, winning a championship is number one priority, I just maybe don't see it as much as like when Karl Malone ended up with the Lakers or when Shaquille O'Neal did his rainbow tour of trying to get a championship or like, I don't know, Chris Webber back in the day we ended up in I don't know, the the Detroit Pistons or like Gary Payton who ended up getting one with the Miami Heat. I just think LeBron is just or even Charles Barkley when he ended up in Houston. I think LeBron is just so much better and so much impactful than all of those guys on their last years on those teams that though it is a ring chase in a literal sense, he's he's just so good that they they needed that. You know, they need it. It's not like oh, I'm going to end it here and I'm going to be the eighth man on the roster while y'all go out there, y'all go go do y'all thing. No, in order for Philly to like you asked me 3 days ago or I literally had this conversation with the numbers on the board. Would the Philadelphia 76ers with the acquisition of Jay LeBron a like a 1A contender? I said no. I did I I said no. They are really good team that could potentially do it, but I didn't see them in the same tier and this is before I guess the the OKC Thunder traded away everybody. But OKC or or the Knicks or the Spurs, but they were probably right below that. But now add a LeBron James, I think that they're in there because that's how good even at 41, 42 years old LeBron James has been and will be. So like in yes, in a literal sense it's a ring chase, but I don't I don't even care about anything like that. We we know he's 41. He's not good enough to be the best player on a championship team anymore. I think that's okay. He comes to that realization. His team comes to that realization. The teams that were trying to acquire him come to that realization. They say, "Bro, we want you to be the second best or third best hell, maybe even the fourth best player on our team and we can go out there and get it done. That's that's fine. I think that's fine. That's that's just me. That's just me. Would you rather have him wither away on a team that he is the best player and they're dog You want him to go to the Bulls to chase the the ghost of of of Michael Jordan? No, let let him go to a team that can put together a roster that can actually compete. And again, we are I don't know, 10 months away from the 2027 NBA Finals. But he got one in Cleveland. He got one in Miami. He got one in LA. In the hypothetical world where he also gets one in Philly, golly. I played in four cities and I won every single won a championship in every single one of them. And you can't tell me based on what you just seen from LeBron James last year that he can't be a Finals MVP even on this team. He's still that damn good. He's still that damn I I think that if they're going to win a championship he won't be the Finals MVP by the way. I think it would have to be like Joel Embiid. Um but but I'm just saying I'm just saying. This is this is fun. This is fun. This is fun. This is fun. This is fun. So okay, just quickly off the topic again this is just broke however many minutes ago. So this is my true true first reaction maybe in 48 hours do another video um when more information comes out. I think the top echelon teams in the Eastern Conference as far as 1A contenders you got to give the New York Knicks that. I'm putting the 76ers up there. Then it gets real interesting. Then it gets really really interesting. Then it gets really oh damn. I can't say the Pistons right now as a 1A. Again, I'm talking 1A not not contender but like cream of the crop contender. I can't put the Pistons in 1A. I can't put the Celtics in 1A. I can't put the Cavs in 1A. I can't put the Raptors in 1A even with you know Kawhi Leonard coming to the team. I can't put the Hawks. I can't put Orlando. I can't put the Hornets. I can't put Miami. I can't put the Bucks. I can't put the Nets. The Pacers I just want I just want to see what Halley looks like coming off that injury before I put them in that conference. So I think that yeah I think they just jumped into a one of the few 1A contenders out East. Philly fans how y'all feel man? Philly fans how y'all feel? This got to be a world wind of emotion for the last two months. You finally get over the hump where you've been going against the Celtics I feel like every year in the playoffs and they've been busting that ass. So to be down 3-1 and come all the way back you're on cloud nine. And then you go to the next round you get spanked you say damn. We was just feeling good last week. And then you trade for Jaylen Brown you say hey we here and then you go get LeBron two weeks later? Come on man they feeling good. Um this is oh my god. Dom Dom 2K is really good at just finding old tweets. The prophet he said destiny fulfilled where back in 2014 Joel Embiid tweeted, "Hey bro, hope you're having a good day. Want to join us in Philly? Peace." He finally did join him in Philly. Joel Embiid bro, I'm praying just just as a as a NBA fan with no dog in this fight, I am praying for a healthy season for JoJo. I'm mostly talking about post season. Regular season I don't give a damn about that. They're going to be good enough to be a top whatever seed without Joel Embiid playing 80 games. But I want one cuz even look think about that Celtic series, man. When he came back the whole series shifted. They had no answer for him. And when he is at the his best there there's not answers for him in the conference. Al Horford's gone. Remember Al Horford was taking his lunch like 8 years ago? So a healthy Joel Embiid season post season does wonders for the NBA. Mhm. Now Adam Silver and company can put together that damn Christmas Day schedule. You know we going to get Philadelphia versus Boston. Philadelphia versus Boston is probably going to be on Christmas Day. Opening day is probably Philadelphia versus New York if I had to guess. I don't know, we're just talking. Come back in a couple days. I'll probably have another video thinking more about it. But LeBron James is a part of the Philadelphia 76ers now and now Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, all of these guys can finally sign their new contracts with whatever teams they're going to go to. Who else is out there? There's some there's some names still out there. So if your team ain't get Bron Bron, don't worry. Maybe you get Maybe you get Kuminga. Mhm. Maybe you get Kuminga.