It's official: LeBron James is heading to the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million contract. While the 76ers were considered one of the frontrunners for James in free agency throughout this month, his decision to ultimately sign with them is still somewhat surprising.
He will be teaming up there with Tyrese Maxey, five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown and two-time scoring champion Joel Embiid. The Sixers, who were already considered contenders after trading for Brown a few weeks ago, will now be considered one of the biggest favorites to win the 2027 NBA championship.
James is coming off an eight-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers after joining them in 2018 following his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Per Dan Woike of The Athletic,
the future Hall of Famer seriously considered going to Philly instead of L.A. when he was a free agent in 2018.
"One of James' ex-Lakers teammates told The Athletic that he recalled a conversation where James talked about how seriously he considered signing with Philadelphia before picking the Lakers in 2018," Woike wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Eight years later, he's a 76er."
James arrived in Los Angeles at a time when the Lakers were at a historic low. They had just missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year, and their immediate and medium-term prospects didn't look very bright, even though they had some promising young players.
After they missed the postseason yet again in James' first season with them, they traded for Anthony Davis in 2019. With two legitimate superstars on their roster, the Lakers won the world title in 2020. Since then, they have gotten past the first round of the playoffs only twice.
Los Angeles has quickly and drastically remodeled its roster around Luka Doncic after it was informed on June 30 that James was leaving. It has arguably addressed all of its roster needs this month, other than its need for a legitimate starting-level two-way wing or forward.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron seriously considered joining 76ers instead of Lakers in 2018
