LeBron James wound up picking Philadelphia, and no billboards were required.
Back in February 2018, a businessman named Asher Raphael arranged for three billboards to be placed a few miles outside of Cleveland in a lighthearted effort to woo James to the Philadelphia 76ers. James decided later that year to leave the Cavaliers and join the Los Angeles Lakers. The billboard bit seemed futile.
Instead, maybe it was just premature. James announced Friday
that he's joining the 76ers in what he said will be the “last decision” of his playing career — and, finally, Raphael can say the billboard investment from eight years ago paid off.
“I was in the middle of a board meeting and my phone was going off like something was on fire," said Raphael, the co-CEO of Power Home Remodeling, a Pennsylvania-based firm with offices around the country. "And it was people from all walks of life, employees, former employees, friends from all over the country being like: ‘It worked. Process completed.’ It was the coolest thing.”
The original billboard idea was loosely based on the award-winning 2017 film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” and was simply intended to be something fun.
It wound up going viral.
Raphael ordered billboards with the messaging of “Philly Wants LeBron” and “Complete The Process” — a nod to the 76ers' infamous “process” of rebuilding, with hopes of becoming a contender. The third billboard showed where James would fit on the court with the other Sixers starters at the time: Dario Saric, Ben Simmons, Robert Covington and Joel Embiid. Of those, only Embiid remains with the 76ers.
Raphael considered ordering more billboards this summer but didn't place any orders. Turns out, he didn't need to.
“We just wanted to drop a seed that Philly wanted him," Raphael said. "I think a lot of people think of Philly as a great sports town, but opposing teams think of it as kind of an intimidating place. And we just wanted to drop a seed that he would be welcomed here and he’d love it.”
Raphael's company got some name recognition from the billboard move in 2018, and he said it was a great morale boost to employees. And he fully believes James coming to Philadelphia, to play alongside Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe, is going to pay off for a city that hasn't seen its NBA team win a championship since 1983.
“Philly, right now, is on fire," Raphael said. “At that moment, we became an undeniable contender. And if he comes to Philadelphia and we get that title and that trophy after 44 years, the country will see what Sixers fans are about.”
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