Nearly a month after LeBron James informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he will not be returning to the team, the legend has made his decision for where he'll play next season.
LeBron James has chosen the Philadelphia 76ers. He signed a two-year, $8 million contract Friday morning.
The team that fired their GM after a second-round loss to the New York Knicks now has one of the most stacked rosters in the league after they also acquired Jaylen Brown nearly three weeks ago.
Mike Gansey was hired to become the President of Basketball Operations at the end of May, and since then, he's traded for Brown, signed Anfernee Simons and Dean Wade, drafted Labaron Philon Jr., and now adds the biggest free agent name of the offseason.
Gansey, a northeast Ohio native, was with the Cleveland Cavaliers front office since 2011-2012 before joining Philly where he spent four years with LeBron. He was also pictured playing alongside James in high school in a viral image that has floated around online.
LeBron will join Brown, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe in the starting lineup in Philly, while Simons, Philon Jr., and Wade give them some scoring pop off the bench.
The 41-year-old is still an effective player and fills plenty of holes the starting lineup was missing. He'll be a connector on the offensive side with his elite playmaking as Brown, Embiid, and Maxey do most of the scoring, he'll push the ball in transition, and will do well off-ball as a cutter and shooter.
Last year he averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 51.7% from the field. His 31.7% clip from downtown was his worst since he shot 30.9% in 2015-16, but there's reason to believe it will swing back in his favor after shooting 41% in 2023-23 and 37.6% in 2024-25.
76ers Odds to Win a Championship Before and After LeBron James Signed
The signing significantly affected the NBA Championship outright market on bet365. Per our trading team, the Sixers were +2000 to win it all next season as of this morning. Immediately after James signed, the number moved all the way to +800. It implies that LeBron gave Philly a 7% boost to their chances next year (4.8% to 11.1%).
It'll take a while for the starting lineup to mesh together with two new stars being added, but as the next season draws to a close, Philly could certainly be looked at as the best team in the Eastern Conference.
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All odds written in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.
