LeBron James walked into a Philadelphia locker room on Monday for the first time as a Sixer, tossed his name placard on the ground and opened with a grin.
“You guys know who I am, right?” he asked.
The 41-year-old signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Sixers in late July after eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. The contract, on the veterans’ minimum, includes a player option for a second year and represents a steep pay cut from the $53 million he earned in 2025-26.
Asked whether Philadelphia would be his final stop, James refused to engage.
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“I don’t want to speak on the future right now,” he told reporters. “I think that would be doing a disservice to myself on just living in the moment.”
Championship talk on day one
When talk turned to expectations, the tone shifted.
“I didn’t leave my family to lose in the second round,” James said.
That was the round Philadelphia exited last season, swept 4-0 by the eventual champion New York Knicks. James joins Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and second-year guard V.J. Edgecombe in Nick Nurse’s rotation, alongside Jaylen Brown, who arrived from Boston this summer in exchange for Paul George and draft picks.
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James said he is happy to give up shots if it lets him defend, crash the offensive glass and run the break. But he was clear about what he thinks he brings to a locker room chasing a first NBA Finals appearance since 2001.
“I hope that I can bring that experience, bring that knowledge, bring the blueprint to the guys that’s trying to accomplish some things,” he said.
He was less modest about his own game.
“I think the luxury of my game is, I can do everything. Literally, I can do everything,” he said.
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Training camp opens on Tuesday. The 76ers start the regular season on Tuesday, October 20 at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks will raise their first championship banner in 53 years before tip-off against James’s new team.
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