The biggest move of the 2026 offseason in the NBA was LeBron James joining the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency. The future Hall of Famer has eight terrific seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and will now head to the Sixers as he prepares for year No. 24 in the league.
James joining the Sixers changes everything. He is still such an elite playmaker, can score 20-to-25 points in the blink of an eye, can rebound the ball and start a break, and he enhances everything the Sixers plan to do in the upcoming season on both ends. He averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.1 rebounds for the Lakers in 2025-26.
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum hopped on "The Dan Patrick Show" and gave his thoughts on James joining the Sixers:
I was just kinda excited
for the NBA. I think the buzz and the excitement level around this season is higher than in recent years. I think just a bunch of different guys on new teams. There's so many storylines that people love to talk about. I think the NBA is going to be super competitive this year and extremely entertaining.
Jayson Tatum was asked for his initial thoughts on LeBron joining the 76ers:
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) September 20, 2026
“I was just kinda excited for the NBA. I think the buzz and the excitement level around this season is higher than in recent years.
“The NBA is going to be super competitive this year.”
(Via @dpshow) pic.twitter.com/c84u9QTSUR
To Tatum's point, the excitement level in the NBA heading into 2026-27 is at a zenith. There are so many talented teams all over the league, and the Sixers are certainly one of them with the talent they gathered on their roster. James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe will form one of the better starting lineups in the league and the bench unit figures to be one of the better ones as well. It will be interesting to see how the Sixers make all of this work.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Celtics' Jayson Tatum gives thoughts on LeBron James joining Sixers
