The Philadelphia 76ers have been the clear winners of the offseason after they went out and brought in Jaylen Brown from the rival Boston Celtics in a league-shattering trade before then winning the LeBron James sweepstakes in free agency. After weeks of deliberation, James made his decision to join the Sixers on a 2-year $8 million deal.
James and Brown are now joining a core of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe in an effort to finally get the franchise over the hump. The Sixers have not been past Round 2 since 2001 and have not won a championship since 1983. James, of course, has won four titles in his career and he will be looking to help Philadelphia now get over the hump in a tough Eastern Conference.
James hopped on his "Mind The
Game" podcast alongside Hall of Famer Steve Nash and gave his reasoning for joining the Sixers among other topics:
James on why he chose the Sixers
On Maxey: "First of all, my relationship with Tyrese Maxey goes beyond the court. By the way! When I mentioned him in the past on the podcast, Philly was not even a question. This was way before the JB trade as well, which is another intriguing piece, you know? But I just love everything about Tyrese Maxey, man. Like, every day, you get the same person. That is very rare in sports and, obviously, super rare in life. I've always talked about how great of a person he is. Obviously, we know what he brings to the basketball court, but when I became a free agent and we decided to let the Lakers know I wouldn't be returning, he was one of the first people that was on my line. Calling me, like, 'Yo, what're we doing? Yo! What's up, OG!? What's up, old head!? Come on down here, man! We could use you down here!' It's a lot of the times I don't answer the phone for a lot of phone calls, because I don't even wanna be swayed in one way, like I know what you're calling about. He's just a great person that I can't not talk to him, one."
On Brown: "I thought the JB trade, two, was another piece that I don't think anybody saw coming. I think people saw something was going to happen there, but I don't think anybody thought it would be Philly that would be part of that trade package. I love the way he approaches the game, too. Both sides of the floor. The way he plays the game. His insight on the game. I watched him--kind of misunderstood and that is absolutely OK. I think we're all individuals for a reason. Everybody's always trying to put everybody in the same box and I love what he stands for and what he brings to the table."
On Embiid: "One of the most important, to be honest, is the Big Fella. He's done everything in our league, and the only thing he has not done and that's win a championship. I want to try to help him get that first one. He’s been the MVP of our league. Has a gold medal, All-Stars, signature shoes, bunch of money, beautiful family, he has everything. He has a city on his back. He's been The Process, you know, for what, 10 years, 12 years, or however long he’s been there. I mean, I think it’s time now that we even dig even deeper into the process, and I hope I can be that final little piece that can help him get over the hump, and have him see maybe just see it a little bit differently than he's seen in his career as far as the day-to-day process. The day-to-day what it takes to get there."
On how he can help the Sixers
"Giving all the blueprint and the game to these guys. To Embiid, Maxey, VJ. JB has some of the blueprint because he experienced it in Boston. Anfernee Simons. Obviously, I'm back with KCP (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), who I was able to give some of the DNA to when we won the championship back in 2020. Dean Wade and the rest of those guys. I'm excited about that almost more than actually getting on the floor. Because if that thing clicks, this will be easy."
James with more on Maxey
"He's been the same person since the moment I met him before he was drafted into the NBA. The same exact person. He came to my house, and that point in time he was 19 years old, and actually hanging with Bronny and Bryce and playing video games at the crib inside the house, so I met him, said what's up to him or whatever, he's going into the draft, but he was actually closer to Bronny and Bryce than he was to me! So, he was hanging with them, but he came in, super respectful to me, super respectful to my wife, super respectful to everybody in the house, bright smile, and just like super down to earth, and from the moment he's gotten drafted to the perennial All-Star, superstar that he's becoming, nothing has changed. Nothing has changed in his demeanor and we all know how people can be the humble kid coming in and then some success happens and they're totally different. He has been the same person, man, and it's hard. I'm not faulting anybody who has some change as far as--growth is good when it's about change--but this young man now is beyond his years for sure."
James on Brown
"I just think anytime someone kind of moves to their own beat, it makes people uncomfortable. He has his own voice. He moves to the sound of his own beat. It makes people uncomfortable because it’s not what everyone’s accustomed to. So, when it becomes misunderstood, then it becomes intimidating and people look at it as like, I don’t want to be around that because they feel intimidated by that. There’s an energy they don’t feel comfortable with. Am I right? I don't know. I'm going to have the opportunity to be around him even more. We've worked out two or three times this offseason and we've been in communication because we're two of the guys on the team, and obviously, KCP's on the same as well, but we're two guys on the team that's been through the foxhole and been through the wringer of what it takes from the moment we step on the court for training camp to the moment we raise that Larry O'Brien trophy. We know what it takes. So, we just try to make sure we're on the same page and have everybody else on the same page, but it's been nothing but good interaction with JB and we're gonna continue that."
James on Edgecombe
"The intel that I've got from everyone is that this kid is beyond his years. They say he was actually one of the leaders of the team as a 20-year-old rookie and not in a disrespectful manner. It's not like he was speaking just to be speaking, thinking he's better than this guy, no. They say he speaks with an intelligent confidence, he works extremely hard. He’s a flat-out player, man...There's no reason he shouldn't be able to, if he really wants to, be contending for an All-Defensive Team this year with his athleticism, his length, his speed, if he wants to! If he wants to. I think JB is gonna set the tone with his ability to guard, but I think VJ should be right there. Taking all the keys from JB, learning all the nuances, because he has all the tools."
On coach Nick Nurse's scheme
"I've been able to be on some good defensive teams in my career and I think defense always come down to the first thing of pride. It's a pride thing. Like, I'm not going to allow my guy to continue to exploit me or beat me or whatever the case may be. It has to be some type of pride in a sense of that. At the end of the day, the best defense never stops the best offense anyways, and that's OK, but if we can make teams uncomfortable, make teams turn the ball over, if we can make teams not be in a rhythm like they're accustomed to be in a rhythm against other teams, it gives us another opportunity. It gives more possessions. We want to try to win the possession game and I think coach Nurse, and I've seen with his teams in the past, especially with the Raptors teams that won a championship, that's what they did. They got up into you, they got into passing lanes, when you got around one guy, they had another guy on you, and obviously with OG (Anunoby), Pascal (Siakam), and Kyle (Lowry), obviously, Marc Gasol being on that team, it was a lot of high IQ guys as well to be able to be do that and I'm looking forward to seeing if we can translate a little bit of that as well because we have the speed. We have the athleticism. Now, it's about do we have the discipline to be able to be able to take that on the defensive end and hold each other accountable, too. Because that's what it's about. You gotta force guys into contested 2s, try not to give up straight line drives, don't give up corner 3s, and then we gotta rebound. As fast and athletic as we can be, we can't do (expletive) if we don't get the rebound."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: LeBron James opens up, explains why he chose Sixers in free agency
