LeBron James will be coming to Philadelphia. LeBron James, the four-time NBA champ and league’s top scorer of all time, announced on Friday that he will join the Sixers in 2026-2027. This season will mark his 24th professional year.
This is my final decision. “I’m not going to go for the money.” James posted on X: “I’m not going to go for my family. What am I playing for? I want to work. I want to continue working. I want to work. “I still want to grind, I still desire to compete and win.
According to reports, the Cleveland Cavaliers were also interested in James. The Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, and Minnesota Timberwolves had been mentioned, but it was the Philadelphia 76ers who won.
ESPN reported that James has signed a two-year, $8 million contract. The player’s option is included.
The Sixers’ new LeBron James
Sixers go for it
The Sixers haven’t won an NBA Finals in 43 years, nor has the team advanced past the second playoff round for 25 years.
The King is likely to retire at the end of this season, and the addition of James signals that the team, led by Mike Gansey as president of basketball operations will be all-in on winning a title.
James stated on Friday that he believes he can make the Philadelphia 76ers a champion team. I’m so excited to energize a brand new fanbase and begin this amazing journey for one final time.
James will be 42 years old in December and will fit perfectly in Tyrese Maxiey’s power forward position in the Sixers starting lineup. Tyrese will join VJ Edgecombe (Jaylen Brown, VJ edgecombe), Tyrese will also include Tyrese to make the most feared line-up in the NBA.
James, the NBA’s oldest player is still performing at a high level.
James played in his 22nd All-Star Game and had an average of 20.9 points and 7.2 assists, and 6.1 rebounds over 60 games.
James provides the Sixers with the necessary size and strength at the power forward position in the starting lineup. He can also provide some secondary ball handling to take Maxey away from the ball. This should enable Nick Nurse, the head coach of the Sixers to be creative in the rotation.
There will certainly be some nights when James scores 30 points, but Maxey and Embiid should provide the Sixers with enough offensive firepower to let him play a supporting role.
Embiid’s health is a major question going into 2026-2027. In the past three seasons, he has only appeared in 96 games during regular season.
Embiid had his best performance in the playoffs since his emergency appendectomy, helping the Sixers to a series victory over Boston Celtics. He missed one game of the series in the second round against the New York Knicks because his body again failed him. Philadelphia was swept.
Embiid’s health is crucial to the success of the team in the playoffs, despite the addition James.
Mike Gansey rebuilds the Sixers over one offseason
Gansey, who replaced Daryl Morey in May as president of basketball operations for the Sixers, rebuilt the Sixers within weeks.
Gansey’s biggest decision to date was landing James, but he has also made other moves that helped the Sixers improve.
James’ move wouldn’t have happened had the Sixers not acquired Brown as part of a massive deal with the Celtics, which sent Paul George along with draft picks and other assets to the Eastern Conference’s rival. Rich Paul, James’ agent, stated on his podcast episode that Brown’s move had “changed everything for the Sixers” as the landing place for his client.
Gansey had already begun free agency with Dean Wade. He spent his first seven years in the Cavaliers. James’ signing will make Wade a depth player for Philadelphia, as he was previously set to be the power forward.
Gansey added more scoring from the bench with the signing of veteran Anfernee Sims who played last season for the Celtics and Chicago Bulls.
The Sixers signed Ariel Hukporti, a former New York Knicks Center to provide depth in the frontcourt alongside Adem Bona. They also added Caleb Love as a guard and Rayeb Rupert (as a forward) on two-way deals.
Reports say that the Sixers, a day after signing the largest free agent ever in the history of the league, signed Kentavious Cadwell-Pope after agreeing on a buyout deal with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Caldwell Pope was a member of the Lakers 2020 championship team in Los Angeles, where he played with James.
Sixers sign LeBron, what you need to know
James was the most sought-after free agent when he informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he would not be returning to the team after eight years.
The Sixers were linked with James throughout the entire free-agent process.
ESPN reports that the Sixers started to express interest in James immediately after trading Brown.
Paul then pulled out his whiteboard and showed Max Kellerman the Sixers as one of many teams who could potentially be James’s next team on “Game Over”.
In another podcast episode, Bob Myers of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (which owns the Sixers) told James that Philadelphia was his best choice.
Paul praised Sixers’ players, including Maxey who is also a Klutch customer, as well as the new Sixers front office which includes Gansey (executive vice president for basketball operations) and Jame Nelson, executive vice-president of basketball.
Gansey’s ties with James go back to their high school days. He was also in charge of the Cavaliers when The King won his second championship in Cleveland.
Gansey is an Olmsted Falls native. He finished in second place in the Mr. Basketball vote behind James. Steven Gansey, Gansey’s older brother, sparked a social media frenzy on July 1 when he shared a picture of them in high school.
According to ESPN, Maxey, Embiid, and Brown kept in constant communication with James, and recruited throughout the entire process. Their star guard led the way.
Last time, the Sixers lost the James sweepstakes. The Sixers were a young team but James decided to move to Los Angeles.
The Sixers have landed their plane.

In the current zeitgeist, celebrities who are larger than life and have a huge cultural impact occupy an area that is hard to quantify. Of course, they are human; this is what makes them so compelling. They often become symbols of something bigger than themselves. LeBron James is a symbol of my own mortality. A reminder of my mortality. His defiance to the aging has shown that, while the aging will affect us all eventually, it is not a fixed process. The graying of his hair, and the fact that players who were born after he was selected are now meeting him as a transitional player, remind us all how time moves on.
As anyone who knows the feeling can confirm, growing older is tiring. The battles that were once worthwhile no longer appear to be worth it. A quiet 30 minute solitude feels like the greatest of all luxurys. This instinctive knowledge may have clouded our perceptions of where LeBron will choose to end his career. He must be exhausted by now. Why not play basketball in Northern California with Stephen Curry, which is probably pointless but highly entertaining? Why not go back to Miami where Giannis Antietokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, and the rest of the team could take on the defensive load, leaving James free to spend the remaining time by the pool and handing over his offensive keys? Why not finish it in Cleveland where James is already loved, the stakes are low, and the storyline is neat? Won’t it be simpler?
With age and time comes something else: an increasing sharpness in which we see the transient nature of our lives. James could have been a symbol for the relentless march of time for anyone who observed him. In his life it moved just as quickly, if it wasn’t faster.
It seems that this was what drove James to sign on with the Philadelphia 76ers, shocking the entire league, last Friday. James released a statement via his X account in which he said he had been grappling with basketball mortality after his 8-year tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, the longest consecutive stint of his professional career. “I thought that I had finished when the season was over. James stated that he wasn’t quite ready to make the announcement, I still needed time to think about it. But he was sure if a game had been played. In that last presser [after Oklahoma City eliminated the Lakers], I was completely honest when I stated I had to take a look at myself in order to decide whether I loved this sport. “I still love this sport, and I can give more.”
James explained that his decision was not motivated by money, as his two-year contract for $8m, which he had signed, would easily confirm, nor by his family who live in Los Angeles, Tucson, and Akron. What was the deciding factor for James? The deciding factor? James asked in a statement, “What do I have to play for now?” James said in the statement, “I want to continue to sacrifice. “I still want to sacrifice.” I want to work. “I still want to grind, I still desire to compete and win.
Even at age 41, it is impossible to sign a contract with a LeBron James of his caliber. After seriously contemplating retirement, James was able to pick virtually any location at the price of a huge pay cut. It was a nice side benefit to be able to stick it up his ex-employer: there are reports that James feels disrespected by Lakers brass. It was obvious to anyone who looked at the Lakers from afar that the team was ready to move on, and build around the 27-year old Slovenian Luka Doncic, after the biggest sports heist in history. Even after James led an injured Lakers team beyond the first playoff round in April, it felt like the split was inevitable. Like any man in his middle age going through divorce, the experience seemed to provoke some real reflection.
When viewed from this perspective, the decision to sign up with Philadelphia is a logical one. The decision of someone who is aware that his playing time, the thing which defined his entire life, will soon be over. The man is forced to question whether or not the juice still makes the squeeze worth it and, if so, for what purpose. Signing with the Sixers can be a risky move. It’s a new team and city, and there are a number of high-profile personalities and players (including Process(tm), holdover Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey of the All-NBA, VJ Edgecombe, the Rookie of The Year Finalist from last season, and the newly acquired Twitch streaming NBA finals MVP Jaylen brown). Then there are the long-standing health problems that have affected Embiid, and by extension the entire franchise. This is also why the opportunity seems so compelling. James would be able to claim the first NBA title for Philadelphia in over 40 years, which will instantly mark his career. The Sixers, with their talented lineup of starters, offer James the opportunity to finally win a championship.
When I think about the passage of time, one thing that often comes to mind is alternate timelines. These are parallel worlds where a simple decision can change everything. LeBron James is in the twilight years of his career, and there are many of these alternate timelines. What if LeBron James had stayed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018? What if Doncic had not been signed by the Lakers, thus extending James’ stay in Los Angeles. What if, and this is perhaps the most interesting of all scenarios: what if New York Knicks had not won the title in 2018? Madison Square Garden, if they had failed to win the championship this year, would have provided James with perhaps the most compelling finale in basketball. If he won, he would give the Knicks their title that they have been chasing for over half a decade. If he lost, he would at least get to choose the final outcome. Rich Paul said that the alternate reality was remarkably close. Paul stopped at New York on the Game Over Podcast, when Max Kellerman and he were discussing a whiteboard with potential destinations. Paul stated that “there wouldn’t be a board” if they had not hoisted Larry O’Brien 2026. Paul said that he would be joining the Knicks.
A different time line prevails. LeBron is now a 76er at 41 years old. It’s a story that has the potential to be intriguing, exciting, and bizarre. He can try to achieve something that no NBA player ever has: winning a championship in Philadelphia with a 4th different team. In Philadelphia, he can play basketball without the huge shadow cast by the previous version of him in places like Miami and Cleveland. In equal measures, he can face his basketball death and try to stave off its arrival. He can make the best of what time he has left.

Kevin Durant used social media to defend LeBron from those who felt that him switching teams would somehow lessen his NBA legacy.
Threads was flooded with criticism after James announced he would join the Philadelphia 76ers. This is largely due to the fact that other legends like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant have primarily been associated with a single franchise.
Durant replied to the critics by writing that James “embodies basketball”, and denying the notion that anyone must spend their career exclusively with one team in order to achieve their goals.
The world is not interested, because they have all given their lives to sports culture and the s—t. Durant responded to the comparison between James, Jordan and Bryant by writing: “All other noise is to me.” I get it. You’re a spectator, but when you live it, it is different.
James joins the Sixers with a contract worth $8 million for two years. He will play alongside Jaylen, Tyrese, VJ, Edgecombe, and Joel Embiid.
It seems so archaic to spend an entire career in one team, especially since the NBA’s salary cap and finances have changed so dramatically in the years that Jordan and Bryant played.
It is rare to find a Bryant or a Derek Jeter, who plays only for one team. Tom Brady played the last three years of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ career.
This apron-era, in particular, has seen teams break up their successful cores at a rate that they have never done before. The Lakers did trade Shaquille o’Neal when he still was in his prime in 2004, but it was more due to their strained relationship at that time with Bryant than money.
It’s also a new pressure for superstars of all sports to be champions and define their legacy, something that wasn’t possible in the past.
James’ NBA career has been marked by comparisons to Jordan and Bryant. Bryant and Jordan each won five championships in their careers. James has a great team to win him his fifth championship as he finishes his NBA career.

MILWAUKEE
According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, former Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo has been arrested in Milwaukee for suspicion of driving under the influence.
WISN 12 obtained an arrest and detention report that stated Romo had been stopped on Thursday at 5:30 pm while driving southbound along Interstate 43, just south of Marquette Interchange. He “performed badly” during the standard field sobriety test. The man was arrested for OWI and then released. In a section of the arrest report where the deputy is asked to rate the “Arresting demeanor,” Romo’s “cooperation” was noted.
A first offense OWI in Wisconsin is usually a civil charge, and not criminal. A citation usually carries fines ranging between $150 and $300. There is no mention of any breathalyzer or blood alcohol testing in the arrest report.
Romo was born in Burlington, and he graduated from Burlington High School. Romo was the first Burlington High School athlete to receive all-state honors in football, golf, and basketball.
In February 2020, the Burlington Area Schools District named their athletic field Tony Romo Field. In September 2022, Romo will return to Burlington for the official dedication of the field during Burlington’s Homecoming.
Romo, a 4-time Pro Bowler is also a member of CBS’ leading NFL broadcasting team.
According to the report, Romo has been given a date for court on Sept. 21, according to the article. His appearance in court is not mandatory.

Officials said that Tony Romo, a CBS football analyst who is also a former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and was arrested in Milwaukee Thursday night on suspicion of drunken driving.
According to Milwaukee County Sheriff records, Romo was stopped on the southbound Interstate 43 around 6:18 pm CT because he had “performed badly” in standardized field sobriety testing.
Romo was arrested on one charge of operating while drunk and then released.
The court ordered him to appear on September 21, the night before the NFL Week 2’s Monday game. On that Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be playing the AFC-champion New England Patriots.
Milwaukee TV reported that the stop was made just a few hours after Romo finished a golf-course interview with NBC affiliate WTMJ.
Romo returned to the West Bend Country Club for the Wisconsin Amateur Championship. The four-round score of 319 was good enough for him to tie in 73rd position, just 32 strokes behind the tournament winner Spencer Turtz.
Romo, a cheerful man who takes golf very seriously, said that he appreciates the fact that his best skill was probably and still is spinning a ball.
Romo said to the station, “I am competitive in both.” I am better at soccer. “But I do think that we are making progress.”
Romo was a Dallas Cowboys player for 13 years, and then seamlessly moved to CBS.
Along with Jim Nantz, the play-by-play broadcaster and Tracy Wolfson, the sideline reporter for Fox Sports’ NFL coverage team. Romo will call his third Super Bowl, in 2024.
Romo stated that he hopes to bring NFL fans more enjoyment each Sunday.
Romo said to TMJ4’s sports director Karley Malrotta, “For me it’s always about making the viewers learn or enjoy the broadcast.” It’s about their team. It’s a big deal. “I always want to make sure they understand. I totally get it.”
On Friday, it wasn’t clear if Romo hired an attorney to represent him.
CBS Sports refused to comment on Friday.