Ahead of free agency this summer, LeBron James revealed his intentions to play a 24th NBA season—and that he wouldn’t be returning to the Lakers. Ever since, the basketball world has waited with bated breath to see where the future Hall of Famer would suit up next season.
Now we know where he’ll be playing this coming season: Philadelphia.
BREAKING: LeBron James is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option, Klutch Sports Group and Klutch CEO and Game Over show host Rich Paul tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/ALOlTkgdAV
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 24, 2026
James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists in Los Angeles last season. He remains an extremely effective point forward as he enters his age-42 season, a masterful manipulator of defenses who still boasts arguably the best court vision in the league. Expectations should be tempered given his age; LeBron isn’t going to drag undermanned rosters to deep playoff runs anymore and his once-elite defense has waned. But he’s an All-Star talent with (literally) more experience than any player in NBA history. He will be enormously valuable to his new squad.
James’s new contract is worth $8 million for two years with a player option, according to Shams Charania.
It’s a fascinating choice, and one that sets up what could be an epic finale to James’s historic career.
LIVE UPDATES: LeBron James Signs With 76ers in Free Agency—Everything We Know
Why LeBron Signed With the 76ers
James returns to the Eastern Conference, where he spent the first 15 seasons of his career, but will play for a new franchise in the 76ers.
Last season was the first in which James was tasked with taking on a lesser role. As Luka Dončić took over as the face of the Lakers franchise and Austin Reaves continued to improve as one of the NBA’s top scorers, James took on a tertiary role, playing more as a distributor than an offensive engine as things ran through Dončić. He was still incredibly effective, and as we saw down the stretch of the regular season and in the playoffs, with Dončić and Reaves out, James was able to ramp back up to be a No. 1 and keep L.A. competitive.
In Philadelphia, he will also be allowed to be more of a role player—albeit a really souped-up one. The Sixers are loaded in the backcourt, with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe locked in as one of the most talented young guard tandems in the NBA. Joel Embiid, when healthy, can still take over a series, as we saw when Philadelphia eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs. And now Jaylen Brown is in the lineup as a reliable scorer and defender at the wing. LeBron will become the fifth player in the lineup through which Nick Nurse can run his offense.
That creates a challenge, for sure. There’s only one ball, and Maxey and Embiid certainly need their touches. Brown embraced being the No. 1 option with Jayson Tatum missing most of Boston’s season last year. And Edgecombe is just scratching the surface after his impressive rookie year.
James is an unselfish player and proved in L.A. that he will accept a lesser role if that is what’s best for the team. That will certainly be the case in Philly, and even before he made his decision, the team had plenty to figure out in terms of how things will work. But he now completes one of the most star-studded and dangerous lineups in the entire league, and one that should be formidable come playoff time. And his presence should make it easier for Nurse to manage everyone’s minutes and take this stacked core into the postseason as healthy as possible.
And if that happens, James just might win a fifth ring with a fourth different franchise. He’d become the first player to win a championship with that many different teams in league history.
How James’s choice affects NBA championship race
As this process got underway earlier this summer, James’s agent, Rich Paul, made it clear that his choice would be about competing for a championship more than anything. That seems to have proven true, as James landing in Philadelphia catapults the 76ers into genuine contention.
It would be hasty to consider them favorites at this juncture. The defending champion Knicks, along with the two West juggernauts in the Thunder and the Spurs, earned the right to be seen as the frontrunners for next year’s title. But James’s new squad is firmly in that next group of contenders.
Most of the teams in that second tier have something to prove in order for their title case to be solid. The 76ers have a lot to figure out with the Jaylen Brown addition; same with the Timberwolves and LaMelo Ball. The Raptors shouldn’t have trouble assimilating Kawhi Leonard back into the mix but once again have to figure out where the points will come from outside the roster’s top scorer. The Celtics got worse on paper in the Brown trade. The Rockets and Nuggets suffered concerning playoff exits that casts a long shadow of doubt over their contention status. James’s old team in Los Angeles added a legit rim protector in Walker Kessler as a backstop to the Luka Dončić-Austin Reaves tandem but the Lakers still lack a wing defender.
There’s no reason to believe James can go head-to-head with all those teams on his new squad and emerge victorious. Taking down the top of the food chain in New York, San Antonio and Oklahoma City will prove harder—but that’s the challenge James is embarcing by not joining an overwhelming favorite.
No matter what, it’s going to be fun to see him try.
More NBA from Sports Illustrated
Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.
.png?w=600)
