Mike Sielski: LeBron chose the hard, dramatic path when he picked the Sixers. Get ready for a wild ride, Philly.

Mike Sielski, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jul 24, 2026

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PHILADELPHIA — If LeBron James is to be believed, if he was telling the truth when he took to Twitter/X late Friday morning to explain why he had decided to shock the basketball world and sign with the 76ers, if he was speaking from the heart and not merely trying to sell a new city and fan base on his choice, then this could be a red-letter moment in the history of Philadelphia sports.

LeBron to the Sixers is unlike anything that has happened around here. Those with long memories like to think that back on Pete Rose’s signing with the Phillies in 1978 or the Sixers’ trading for Moses Malone in 1982 are comparable, and it’s understandable why. Those superstars provided exactly what those teams needed to win a championship, and each of those teams promptly won one — the Phillies in Rose’s second season, the Sixers in Malone’s first.

But James exists in a different stratosphere economically and culturally from the one Rose and Malone did then. His fame is global. His wealth makes him a multibillionaire. He is among the five best basketball players ever to walk the Earth and among the most famous people walking it now. And he is a perfect fit for this Sixers team, for a franchise that hasn’t won a championship since 1983 and is making an all-in move to end that drought.

The most heartening aspect of James’ decision isn’t even that, at 41 years old, he should be the ideal power forward/point guard to play alongside Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. He is a player unlike any other; he can bring the ball up, get it out of Maxey’s hands, run a halfcourt offense, and play at any pace.

No, the encouraging thing about his announcement Friday was his reason for making it. He admitted that he had contemplated retiring, that he had spent time with his family and friends, “with all the people I love,” he wrote, “trying to figure it all out.” He wanted to keep playing, but he had to acknowledge to himself why.

“I’m not going for money,” he wrote, which partially explains why his contract with the Sixers reportedly is just two years long and worth just $8 million. “I’m not going for family. 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. 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.”

That desire — to win an NBA championship — really was the only factor that stood a chance of drawing James here, and there was a case to be made that the Sixers didn’t even offer the best opportunity for him to win his fifth ring. The Miami Heat have Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo and Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra and that vaunted Heat culture, and the Cleveland Cavaliers were just in the Eastern Conference finals last season, and he was familiar with both franchises and revered in both markets. He could have gone to either of those teams for sentimental reasons alone, never mind the rosters and the possibilities on the court, and no one would have been surprised.

Instead, he chose a harder, more dramatic road. Assume he had decided to spend his final season or seasons with the Heat or the Cavaliers. Either of those teams could lose in the second round of the playoffs with him, and James’ legacy and reputation would remain untarnished. They love him in those places and always will. He helped build a dynasty in Miami. The championship he won in 2016 with the Cavs was Cleveland’s first in 52 years. Philadelphia is something else entirely, and not merely because the Sixers have gone so long without a parade.

A franchise that hasn’t won a championship in more than 43 years, that was expected to win a championship for more than a decade in the aftermath of The Process and never got all that close, will be expected to win one because of James’ presence. People here had grown jaded about the Sixers, about all these iterations of the team, about a franchise that hasn’t had an identity since Allen Iverson was sacrificing his body every night for the sake of scoring 40. James’ decision has blended that cynicism with hope and created a powerful concoction. Ticket sales surely are skyrocketing already. The Sixers will be at the center of every hoops-related talk show, podcast, international news story, and dinner table conversation into the foreseeable future. Their roster will be a fascinating study in leadership and group dynamics, and it will test coach Nick Nurse and his staff like nothing they’ve encountered in their careers. The pressure on this team will be withering.

LeBron James signed up for all of that. He did it because he wants to win and thinks he can with the Sixers. The stakes for this franchise, for pro basketball in this city, have never been higher. Get ready for a journey no one here has taken before. Get ready, win or lose with LeBron James, for the wildest ride you can imagine.