Why LeBron James signed with Philadelphia 76ers in NBA free agency
Follow our live coverage of James’ decision to sign with Philadelphia for the upcoming season.
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The Athletic NBA Staff
July 25, 2026 at 10:01 AM EDT
LeBron James headed to 76ers
LeBron James has announced he will sign with the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2026-27 NBA season on a two-year contract
The Sixers beat out the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat for his services
Follow here for the latest on the situation from our reporters. And check out The Athletic NBA Daily for more thoughts on James’ decision
LeBron James signing with Philadelphia 76ers, marking his record 24th season
Inside the latest decision
LeBron Jamesmade another huge choice to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers over the other teams that were courting him. He says Philadelphia will be his final team. But why the 76ers?
Our Joe Vardon and David Aldridge answer that as they go inside James’ decision to sign with Philadelphia. This is a must-read on the biggest name in the NBA making the biggest move of the offseason. Check it out here
GO FURTHER
Inside LeBron’s Philadelphia Decision: Why pretty much everyone was completely in the dark
GO FURTHER
Inside LeBron’s Philadelphia Decision: Why pretty much everyone was completely in the dark
How the 76ers became contenders
The Philadelphia 76ers are championship contenders now. Every team LeBron Jamesplays for is, after all. So how did the 76ers go from being pretty good to maybe being the best? Tony Jonesbreaks down the transformation of this team this offseason, highlighted by James’ decision
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With LeBron James in the fold, the 76ers suddenly look like NBA title contenders
Where I have the Cavaliers
With the news ofLeBron James heading to Philadelphia, where does that leave his hometown team in our post-decision Power Rankings?
The Cavs aren’t No. 1, that’s for sure, but the way I see it, Cleveland isn’t that far from the top
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NBA Power Rankings: Where every team stands after LeBron James’ move to 76ers
LeBron to 76ers solidifies one thing: The East is back, baby
The East is back, even if it was hardly ever here. LeBron James’ return to the conference he once dominated is only part of its rise
On Friday, James announced he would join the Philadelphia 76ers, the fourth and, he says, final organization of his career. And yet, the Sixers are hardly automatic favorites to go to the NBA Finals or even the conference finals — and not just because James is 41 years old or because of Joel Embiid’s unfortunate injury history
The makeup of the conference is not the same as it was when James frolicked to eight consecutive finals berths before heading to Los Angeles in 2018. The path for Sixers — whose healthy starting lineup is now loaded with two reigning All-NBA performers in Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown, a talented up-and-comer in VJ Edgecombe and two former MVPs in Embiid and James — is littered with obstacles
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Want to know how many college hoops players are making more than LeBron’s $3.8 million next season?
The answer is 18, according to our
Florida’s Thomas Haugh, widely believed to be the highest-paid college hoops star next season, will reportedly earn $10 million next year. Ourng $30 million on their rosters alone. Our full list:
A shift in the East
LeBron James’ decision to join the Philadelphia 76ers changes things in the NBA, specifically in the Eastern Conference. But what does it really mean in the conference? Our William Guillory, Jason Jones and Eric Koreenshare their thoughts on the big news here
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LeBron James’ latest decision shifts power in the Eastern Conference and could define his legacy
I’m not sure M. Night Shyamalan knows that the NBA retired No. 6 leaguewide a few years ago. And, y’know, that’s Julius Erving’s number
@KingJames@sixerspic.twitter.com/iXyyKJj1ho
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) July 24, 2026
This is where I have landed on the NBA Christmas Day games:
- Heat-Knicks at MSG
- 76ers-Celtics
- Wolves-Lakers
- Thunder-Spurs
- Rockets-Warriors
Topps announced that the trading card they’re making to mark LeBron James’ move to Philadelphia, the one promoted in the tweet that broke the news of his decision, has already sold more than 100,000 copies. That makes it one of the best-selling Topps Now cards since the company regained the NBA trading card license last fall
The Phillies are getting in on the LeBron James fun
We are all witnesses pic.twitter.com/4oxthpDF2n
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 25, 2026
LeBron James is one of the many great athletes who couldn’t seem to hang it up at the end of their career
Impact on schedule
There are so many questions coming out of today’s announcement by LeBron James, and one of them is this: What does this mean for the schedule? Our David Aldridgeshares some thoughts on what some of the national schedule could look like this season
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Who should LeBron James’ 76ers play on opening night and Christmas? Some schedule predictions
Harper on James
Bryce Harperis one of the few people on this planet who can relate (at least a little bit) to LeBron James. They were both on Sports Illustrated covers as teenagers. They have succeeded as professional athletes while the highest of expectations have followed them. They are both Ohio State football fans
And, now, they will share a city
“Pretty cool,” Harper said Friday before the Philadelphia Phillies played the New York Yankees. “Obviously, one of the best to ever do it.”
Harper is one of the most recognizable athletes in the country, but he’s not James. Now, alongside Eagles mainstays Jalen Hurtsand Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia has a brand of star power that has few parallels in the city’s history
“Just obviously a great city to come play in,” Harper said. “Fan base-wise, sports-wise. I feel like the city’s in a really good spot with all the teams right now — from us, to the Sixers, to the Eagles, to the Flyers making the postseason this year as well. So just a really good spot to be in.”
Harper, like most people following the James saga, expected him to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. That was his prediction when asked last week during an ESPN broadcast. Harper might not be the biggest NBA fan; he said he’s met James at the ESPYs before
He understood the magnitude, much like how the city reacted when Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million deal in March 2019
“We’re in different places in our careers,” Harper said. “So I think that plays a little bit into it. Obviously, he’s one of the greatest ever to do it. He’s done it for a long time. I mean, there’s four guys over there on that starting lineup; they’re probably really happy. It’s Nick Nurse’s birthday today, too. But the city is on fire about it. I mean, how could you not be? It’s LeBron James.”
This is a poignant explanation LeBron gave about the family impact of this choice, along with the Bronny aside
LeBron James said the impact his free agency would have on his young daughter weighed on him a lot.Thought his answer last week about thinking about this through prism of his family was poignant. Gives some perspective on his 76ers pick. (From CNBC/Boardroom Game Plan Summit) pic.twitter.com/Ssn6T9caxy
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) July 24, 2026
Let’s tackle an important question that you might not be thinking about
At WNBA All-Star availability in Chicago, Philly native and Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper shared some of her thoughts on the 76ers adding LeBron James
“We’ve trusted the process, and now look what happened.”
Kahleah Copper Is on cloud nine right now 👀👑Presented by Paze® pic.twitter.com/bQcuP4Pygz
— theScore (@theScore) July 24, 2026
As the Cleveland Cavaliers move on to other options now that they’ve missed out on LeBron James, let’s note that a sign-and-trade for Atlanta’s Jonathan Kuminga is basically impossible given how far beyond the first-apron payroll threshold the Cavs currently stand
What is more plausible, however, is fitting in Kuminga with a one-plus-one deal for the $6.06 million taxpayer exception, and then re-signing James Harden for any amount less than $32 million for the coming season. Such an arrangement would keep the Cavs just a hair below the $221.67 million second apron with the mandatory 14 contracts on their books
I mentioned Dwight Howard below, but here’s another former Sixer weighing in on the LeBron Jamesdecision (and also maybe angling for a return)
Richaun Holmeswas drafted by Philly in the second round in 2015 and played three seasons with the team. His best year was 2020-21, when he started 61 games and averaged 14.2 points per contest with the Sacramento Kings. His most recent NBA season was 2024-25 with the Washington Wizards
Man bron to Philly that’s wild fr…ay if yall need one more i already know my way around the city 👀 @sixers
— Richaun Holmes (@Rich_Holmes22) July 24, 2026
