LeBron James arrived in Philadelphia with a veteran-minimum deal, a No. 23 76ers jersey and a clear playoff standard: a second-round exit will not be enough. The 41-year-old is beginning his 24th NBA season on a two-year, $8 million contract, joining Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown on a remade Sixers roster built for an immediate title push.
James made his first Philadelphia media-day appearance Monday at the team’s Camden, New Jersey, facility. Before taking questions, he tossed aside his name placard and asked the room if an introduction was really necessary.
It was not. The league’s all-time scoring leader now has a new uniform and another franchise hoping his championship experience can alter its history.
Philadelphia finished 45-37 last season before the New York Knicks, who went on to win the championship, swept the Sixers from the second round. The organization has not won an NBA title since 1983.
“I didn’t leave my family to lose in the second round,” James said.
From the locker room
James said his immediate work will be learning the personnel around him and helping a roster that has elite talent but includes key players still chasing their first championship.
“The advantage of my game is that I can do it all,” James said. “I can literally do it all.”
That flexibility figures to matter in Philadelphia’s rotation. James can initiate offense, work off the ball, rebound from either forward spot and organize possessions around Embiid and Maxey. Brown adds another established All-Star to a group now carrying far more pressure than last season’s club.
Maxey, one of James’ close friends, welcomed the addition simply: “It’s really cool that he’s here.”
James arrives after averaging 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists last season. Across more than 1,600 regular-season games, he has posted career averages of 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists.
His résumé includes 22 All-Star selections, 21 All-NBA honors, four MVP awards, four Finals MVPs, three All-Star Game MVP awards and a place on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
More important to the Sixers, he has won championships in three stops. James claimed two rings with Miami, led Cleveland to the 2016 title that ended the city’s 56-year championship drought, then won again with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
“I hope I can bring the experience, the knowledge and the blueprint to guys trying to reach things they haven’t reached in their careers,” James said. “I’ve seen what the league brings, on the floor and away from it. Hopefully my daily approach to the game and the work carries over to everybody.”
James also addressed the attention that will follow this team through camp and into the season. The media turnout in Camden extended well beyond the usual local NBA crowd, a reminder that Philadelphia has added the sport’s most recognizable player.
“The noise is going to be there,” James said. “What’s outside this building will keep happening, and it will be doubled, tripled and quadrupled. That comes with the territory.”
He did not offer a timetable for retirement, keeping the focus on the season in front of him rather than how many remain.
“I don’t want to talk about the future right now,” James said. “At this stage of my career, that would take away from living in the moment.”
