DETROIT -- LeBron James is certainly having fun with the Philadelphia 76ers. The 41 year old is celebrating after big baskets, he's cracking jokes with everybody out on the floor, and he's even having fun with the fans as he took a sip of a fan's wine in the team's previous win over the Chicago Bulls.
Now in his 24th season, it feels as if James is playing with a certain level of joy that hasn't been seen from him in recent seasons. Not that he wasn't having fun with the Los Angeles Lakers, but it feels as if things are different with the Sixers as he chases his fifth championship.
"He has a different perspective on the game than maybe most of us have just being in the game so long," acknowledged Anfernee Simons. "I think he's just trying to enjoy
the moments he does have. Who knows how long he's gonna be playing still? But I feel like he's trying to enjoy these moments, playing basketball, playing at a high level, and I think that's where a lot of us should take that from."
To Simons' point, who knows when James is going to hang up the sneakers? He can still produce as he's still averaging 16.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 7.0 rebounds for the Sixers despite all the miles on his legs and his advanced age. He's also averaging 33.2 minutes per game so if the future Hall of Famer, and arguably the best player to ever play the game, wants to have a little fun? He should be allowed to do so.
It's a message that the other Sixers can learn from as they enjoy this game at a high level.
"Just being able to enjoy no matter if you're having a good night, an off night," Simons finished. "Just being able to have that perspective of enjoying the game, enjoying the competition, enjoying each and every night, enjoying the teammates, enjoying just the journey and how we're approaching the season. So, I think he has a better insight of that than us because we're so young into the game."
Until then, James is going to continue having fun as he helps the Sixers win games and prepare them for the challenges to come in 2027.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers guard discusses LeBron James having fun out on the floor
