PHILADELPHIA (AP) — LeBron James locked eyes on the basketball the moment Tyrese Maxey lobbed a half-court pass in his new teammate's direction.
James snared the ball and brought it home for a two-handed dunk that sent the 76ers' crowd of 19,746 fans — yes, a sellout in the final preseason game — into a frenzy.
Just wait until it counts.
James performed his famed chalk toss and was introduced to a roaring ovation on Friday night in his first preseason
game for the 76ers in Philadelphia.
The 41-year-old James, who joined the 76ers this summer for his NBA-record 24th season, gave a sneak peek of the fun that could be ahead in his first season with the Sixers.
He scored eight points and had eight rebounds against the Boston Celtics, but it was the dunk off a pass from Maxey — a close friend whom James has credited with swaying his decision to sign with the Sixers — that made him a crowd favorite in Philadelphia.
“This is a connection that we have,” James said. “Some of the best things for us offensively is going to be to get up the floor.”
James got some nice air on the dunk. He's getting sky high in the helicopter he takes after practice from the Sixers' New Jersey practice facility to a helipad in New York. There have been a few times already when Sixers doing post-practice interviews have had their answers drowned out by the whirring overhead.
“I've done it before,” James said. “Just another way of transportation. That's all.”
Public address announcer Matt Cord offered a full-throated “At 6-9, from St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, No. 23, LeBron James! James!” for the intros. Joel Embiid still got the final introduction.
While nothing from Boston's 125-120 overtime victory will count toward James' career stats, Sixers fans had been waiting to catch a glimpse of him in his No. 23 jersey since he signed with the team in July. Scores of kids in Sixers jerseys crowded over the home team entrance canopy and screamed for James to stop for a picture or an autograph.
The arena ushers behind the Sixers' bench kept saying “Keep walking!” to the gaggle of fans and slow walkers who stopped to watch James in warmups. One constantly barked, “You can't stand here unless you've got a ticket!”
None of the stragglers had one.
James did welcome one boy and one girl to the bench with him after he finished shooting and posed for a quick photo.
The Sixers played all of their starters except for VJ Edgecombe. Jaylen Brown scored 20 points in his first game against the Celtics since the 2024 NBA Finals MVP was traded to the Sixers in the offseason.
“I played there for 10 years, so it will never be out of the way,” Brown said.
James sat out the Sixers' home preseason opener but played in a scrimmage that was open to the public and drew 10,000 fans.
He then made his preseason debut last week at Brooklyn. He had 10 points, five assists and four rebounds in the first half.
The Sixers play their season opener on Tuesday against New York at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks will raise the banner to celebrate their NBA championship. Philadelphia's home opener is Thursday against Cleveland, followed by back-to-back games over the weekend.
James spent the last eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers before signing a two-year deal with the Sixers for the league minimum.
“We’re getting there,” James said. “We’re a couple of weeks in. We’re still working on our rhythm, working on our kinks. It’s not going to be perfect. Obviously, we’re just getting together, so it’s not going to be perfect. But we’ve got some things we can build on.”
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