LeBron James is heading to the
Philadelphia 76ers, saying it will be his 'last decision'
[July 25, 2026]
By DAN GELSTON
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — LeBron James’ first final decision was that he
would retire. Weeks of deep reflection led him to change his mind,
however, with all the familiar options in front of him to extend his
career; a third trip with Cleveland, a second stop in Miami, maybe
even stay in California for a high-profile union in Golden State.
Nope — to all of those teams.
The blaring headline in bold letters still seemed like a feverish
dream to the bulk of a fan base that wasn't even alive the last time
the franchise won a title, but it's true:
LeBron James is heading to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The NBA’s career scoring leader made the announcement on social
media Friday, saying it will be his “last decision” and that it
comes after he strongly considered retirement.
“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship
team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this
incredible journey one last time,” James said.
A four-time NBA champion, James wrote he was “done” when his 23rd
NBA season ended and that it was his last with the Los Angeles
Lakers.
“I was pretty sure I played my last game. I was honest at that last
press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and decide
if I still love this game," James wrote. “I still truly love this
game, and I have more to give.”
The 41-year-old James is set to sign a modest $8 million, two-year
contract on the veterans' minimum with the Sixers, according to
ESPN. He made nearly $53 million last season.
“I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family,” James wrote.
“What am I really playing for at this point? I still want to
sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want
to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning.”
James celebrated his decision on Instagram with a career highlight
reel set to Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill's “Dreams and Nightmares,”
the adopted sports anthem of city teams.
The video ends with the lyric, “hold up, wait a minute. Y'all
thought I was finished?” and cuts to a 76ers' logo.
Fanatics already had his No. 23 jersey on sale for $125 with
delivery not expected until the end of August. The company sold out
within hours of the announcement.
Much as James did for Cleveland when he ended a 56-year championship
drought for the city by leading the Cavaliers to the title in 2016,
he can snap a lengthy title drought for the Sixers.
The Sixers went 45-37 last season and were swept in the second round
by the NBA champion New York Knicks.
Most betting sites had the Sixers as 9-1 favorites to win the
championship behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs
and the New York Knicks, as of Friday afternoon.
James joins a 76ers team that has not won an NBA championship since
1983 and has not advanced out of the second round of the Eastern
Conference playoffs since 2001.
He's the biggest elite free-agent star to sign with a Philadelphia
sports team since Bryce Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million deal
with the Phillies ahead of the 2019 season. Like James, Harper was a
teenager on the cover of Sports Illustrated and has long had to live
up to lofty expectations at every single turn.
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“He’s going to have a great couple of years here,
and obviously everyone’s going to expect him to win a championship
here like everywhere else," Harper said. “So nothing new for him.
He’s had all the pressure since he was in high school or younger
than that.”
The 76ers should boast one of the top starting
fives in the NBA with second-year standout VJ Edgecombe, fellow
All-Stars Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown — the 2024 NBA
Finals MVP, a five-time All-Star and the league’s fourth-leading
scorer this past season acquired in a stunning offseason deal with
the Celtics.
Maxey posted an Instagram story of him celebrating in a gym and
yelling “what!? what?!” over the news while Brown wrote on X “#throwtheballup.”
Brown wrote the same phrase in his introductory note to
Philadelphia, and it has already been branded on billboards
throughout the city.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro even proclaimed Friday as LeBron
James Day in the state.
Turned out with the Brown deal, new 76ers team president Mike Gansey
— an Ohio prep basketball star with James — was just getting started
with his summer of surprises.
No move, of course, hits like James' arrival.
Playing with his home team in Cleveland to the bright lights of Los
Angeles and with the talent he took to Miami, James won an NBA
championship everywhere he played. James left the Lakers after an
eight-season run highlighted by the 2020 NBA title.
James is the NBA’s oldest active player at 41 and the only player in
league history to have a career spanning 23 seasons; this coming
season will be his 24th. Speculation has been rampant for more than
two months about his future, officially starting in May when the
Lakers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs.
James’ resume is beyond compare in NBA history. He’s a 22-time
All-Star, a 21-time All-NBA selection, a four-time Most Valuable
Player, a four-time NBA Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star Game MVP,
and was a member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.
He’s also coming off a season where he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1
rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. For his career, he’s averaged
26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists in more than 1,600 games.
James started his career in Cleveland in 2003 and spent seven
seasons with the Cavaliers before heading to Miami for four seasons
— where he won his first two NBA titles. He then returned to
Cleveland for four more seasons, including that title run in 2016,
and left in 2018 for the Lakers.
Cleveland and Miami were believed to be on James’ radar again as he
weighed this decision.
“Thank you LA. Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will
always home!” James wrote.
He eighty-sixed them all for a shot to win a title with the 76ers, a
franchise with a career lineup that includes Wilt Chamberlain, Allen
Iverson, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley and, for the next two
seasons, LeBron James.
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