The 2026-27 season is right around the corner and now is the time to get some rankings in before the new season. The Philadelphia 76ers are a team filled with talented players as they look to make a run at the title in the upcoming season, and therefore, will feature prominently on ranking lists.
Sixers star LeBron James is heading into an unprecedented 24th season in the league and will be looking to guide the franchise to its first title since 1983. James has won four championships in his career with the Miami Heat (2012, 2013), Cleveland Cavaliers (2016), and Los Angeles Lakers (2020). He is now looking to add a fifth to his already brilliant resume as he just adds to his Hall of Fame legacy.
ESPN ranked the top 100 players in the league at
the moment and James comes in ranked No. 18:
Seeing James outside the top 10 is jarring. Then again, seeing a guy who turns 42 in a few months still inside the top 25 is probably the better framing to appreciate what the 22-time All-Star continues to accomplish. James already had success as L.A.'s No. 3 option last season and will likely reprise that role behind Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown for the 76ers. The difference is that while James' scoring took a back seat to Doncic and Reaves for the Lakers, his touches might not suffer too much in Philly. Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey has indicated the team will have James play point forward and orchestrate the offense, similar to his role with the Lakers when they won the 2020 title.
James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.1 rebounds in the 2025-26 season for the Lakers and then upped his production in the playoffs as he led the Lakers to a Round 1 series win over the Houston Rockets before being swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now, James will look to guide the Sixers to a place the franchise hasn't been in decades. The last time Philadelphia moved past Round 2 was when Allen Iverson led them to the finals in 2001.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers star LeBron James ranked No. 18 best player in the league
