LeBron James signs with Sixers as Philadelphia loads up with hopes of winning first title since 1983 - CBS News

LeBron James is coming to Philadelphia. The four-time NBA champion and the league's all-time leading scorer announced Friday he's joining the Sixers for the 2026-27 season, which will be his 24th as a pro.

"This is my last decision. I'm not going for money. I'm not going for family," James wrote on X. "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 another championship."

The Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves were reportedly mentioned as other suitors for James, but the Philadelphia 76ers won the sweepstakes.

ESPN reports that James is signing an $8 million, two-year contract with a player option.

What signing LeBron James means for Sixers

The Sixers are going for it.

It's been 43 years since the Sixers last won the NBA Finals, and 25 years since the team got past the second round of the playoffs.

The addition of James means one thing: the team and its president of basketball operations, Mike Gansey, are going all in on a championship in what could be the last season of The King's storied career.

James said on Friday, "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, who will turn 42 in December, will slide perfectly into the power forward spot in the Sixers' starting lineup with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid to form the most feared lineup in the league.

Even though James is the oldest active player in the NBA, he's still playing at an incredibly high level.

James made his 22nd All-Star Game last season and averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games.

James gives the Sixers the size and rebounding they needed at power forward in their starting lineup. He also provides some secondary ball-handling to get Maxey off the ball, which should allow head coach Nick Nurse to get creative with the team's rotation.

Surely there will be nights where James puts up 30 points and fills up the box score, but the Sixers should have enough firepower in Maxey, Embiid, Brown and Edgecombe to allow him to play in a secondary role.

Of course, Embiid's health will remain a big question heading into the 2026-27 season. He's only played in 96 regular-season games over the last three seasons.

Embiid returned from an emergency appendectomy in the first round and had the best playoff performance of his career to help the Sixers rally to a historic series win over the Boston Celtics. But he missed a game in the second-round series against the New York Knicks, as his body failed him again, and Philadelphia got swept.

Embiid's health will be paramount for how far the team will go in the postseason, even with the addition of James.

How Mike Gansey rebuilt the Sixers in one offseason

Gansey replaced Daryl Morey as the team's president of basketball operations in May and rebuilt the Sixers in weeks.

While landing James is the biggest move Gansey has made so far, he's made others that have helped improve the Sixers.

The James move would've never happened if the team hadn't acquired Brown in a blockbuster move with the Celtics that sent Paul George and draft picks to their Eastern Conference rival. Rich Paul, James' agent, said on an episode of his podcast that the Brown move "changed everything" for the Sixers as a landing spot for his client.

Before that, Gansey began free agency by signing forward Dean Wade, who spent the first seven years of his career with the Cavaliers. Wade was set to become Philadelphia's starter at power forward, but now will be a depth piece with the signing of James.

Gansey also added scoring off the bench by drafting University of Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. and signing veteran guard Anfernee Simons, who spent last season with the Celtics and Chicago Bulls.

In free agency, the Sixers also signed former New York Knicks center Ariel Hukporti to add depth to the frontcourt with Adem Bona and added guard Caleb Love and forward Rayan Rupert on two-way contracts.

One day after landing James, ESPN reports that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope agreed to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and plans to sign a one-year deal with the Sixers.

Caldwell-Pope played alongside James in Los Angeles as part of the Lakers' 2020 championship team. He also won a championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023.