After eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James is now a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, and he has joined an absolutely stacked roster. Philly already had former NBA MVP and two-time scoring champion Joel Embiid, star point guard Tyrese Maxey and young stud V.J. Edgecombe, and they also brought in five-time All-Star wing and former finals MVP Jaylen Brown this summer.
While many are bullish on the 76ers' potential, some are predicting that the team's stars may get in the way of each other and impede the squad's ability to win the NBA championship.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson was in a somewhat similar situation as a rookie with the Purple and Gold during the 1979-80 season. In an exclusive interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson,
he dismissed concerns about the Sixers' chemistry.
“Well, it’s going to be easy when you’re a playmaker,” Johnson said. “He gets everybody involved in the game, he gets people easy buckets and shots.
“When you think about Maxey, Embiid… all those guys, now Jaylen Brown -- one thing that he knows how to do is also bring everybody together.”
As a rookie, Johnson joined a talented squad that featured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes and Norm Nixon. It had its inevitable growing pains, especially since Johnson pretty much supplanted Nixon as its point guard, forcing Nixon to play more of a secondary ball-handling role, but it all worked out, as Los Angeles won it all that season.
Last season, James adjusted well to being L.A.'s third scoring option behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. He played off the ball seemingly more than ever, and that could prepare him well for what he will have to do to get Philly over the hump.
But of course, he could assume more ball-handling duties for the Sixers than he did for the Lakers last season, as Maxey is more of a score-first point guard than a true, natural facilitator. That is where the 41-year-old could truly be a catalyst for one of the NBA's most talented teams.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Magic Johnson on LeBron James joining 76ers: 'It's going to be easy'
