SAN FRANCISCO — The face of the NBA and arguably its greatest player ever spurned the idea of playing with his biggest rival in the Bay Area.
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LeBron James, 41, agreed to an two-year, $8 million contract with the 76ers on Friday, James and his agency Klutch Sports announced on social media on Friday. James had publicly split with the Lakers after eight seasons in late June, and Philadelphia beat out teams such as the Warriors, Heat and his hometown Cavaliers to sign him.
“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,” James posted on X. “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.”
Former Warriors GM Bob Myers is an executive in the 76ers organization.
James is still one of the top players in the game and averaged 20.9 points and 7.2 assists while playing solid defense last season, his 23rd in the NBA.
He had an opportunity to team up with onetime nemeses Steph Curry and Draymond Green, and play for the same organization that beat him and the Cavaliers in three out of four consecutive Finals matchups between 2015 and 2018.
Of course, the one victory came in 2016, when James authored Cleveland’s comeback from down 3-1 to vanquish the 73-9 Warriors on the precipice of becoming the unquestioned greatest team in NBA history.
That summer, the Warriors responded by signing Kevin Durant and morphing from juggernaut to invincible.
But a decade later, the Warriors could not pull off another monumental move for an all-time great in James. Even though Steph Curry and Draymond Green made their individual pitches to James, their words were not convincing enough to bring him to the Bay Area.
And this time around, the circumstances surrounding their offseason pursuit of a star are far different than when they went after Durant in 2016.
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The Warriors have long fallen off their lofty perch above the rest of the league since winning the 2022 title, and recently suffered through a 37-45 season riddled with injuries.
James joins a veteran-laden team that is poised to return almost the entire roster and most of the same questions it had last season.
Curry, while still one of the best scorers in the league, is 38 with a sore knee that will require management and supervision. He played in only 43 games last season. Green is 36 and showed signs of regression on both sides of the ball. He is currently unsigned after declining his player option for next season, although he is expected to re-sign on a team-friendly deal.
The Warriors brought back centers Al Horford (age 40) and Kristaps Porzingis, as well as guard De’Anthony Melton, all on two-year contracts. Though Porzingis is only 31 and Melton just turned 28, the trio combined to play exactly one back-to-back set while the team remained highly cautious with their workload due to their injury histories.
Starting forwards Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody sustained serious knee injuries earlier this year, and are expected to be out most of next season. Even the team’s prized rookie, Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, was one of the oldest in the draft class and will be 24 by the time training camp starts.
Despite his advanced age, James could have still filled gaps in a rotation with his well-rounded skillset. But asking him to carry a flawed roster to championship contention would have likely been too much to ask of any player over 40.
With his new team in the 76ers, James will be able to take more of a backseat role beside co-stars in Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey.
Meanwhile, the Warriors are staring down another long season where the team will ask its rapidly aging core to remain healthy deep enough into the season to mount one last playoff push.
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