{"id":5285,"date":"2026-07-24T21:41:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T21:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5285"},"modified":"2026-07-24T21:41:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T21:41:25","slug":"how-the-76ers-overcame-underdog-status-to-woo-lebron-james-in-massive-nba-coup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5285","title":{"rendered":"How the 76ers overcame underdog status to woo LeBron James in massive NBA coup"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Getting LeBron James to Philadelphia was a team effort for the 76ers.<\/p>\n

James\u2019 next stop was finally revealed Friday, as he announced he was heading to Philly, and ESPN reported how several Sixers figures recruited him to join their team.<\/p>\n

Read more UWS stabbing suspect who yelled \u2018Allahu Akbar!\u2019 before attacks hit with hate crime charges: sources<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sixers came at him \u201cfrom all angles\u201d, with president of basketball operations Mike Gansey staying in \u201cconstant communication\u201d with James\u2019 agent, Rich Paul, according to Dave McMenamin.<\/p>\n

Paul previously shared that his client\u2019s priority in his next chapter was \u201cbasketball happiness\u201d, which the Sixers reportedly interpreted in optimistic fashion for their chances of landing him.<\/p>\n

The outlet also shared how Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and their new teammate Jaylen Brown made direct recruiting efforts towards James, with Maxey also being represented by Paul\u2019s Klutch agency.<\/p>\n

Those overtures were apparently a two-way street, as James, according to ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst, continuously reached out to players like Embiid and gave the organization \u201chope that they were still involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

James was also courted by at least one prominent person outside of the Sixers organization, as he reportedly ran into Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Peter Hamby reported for Puck that Shapiro was dining at private members club ZZ\u2019s in New York with Bill and Hillary Clinton when James came over to chat with the group.<\/p>\n

Read more US \u2018locked and loaded\u2019 for \u2018massive attack\u2019 on Iran, Trump says \u2014 but he\u2019s \u2018not in a hurry\u2019 to strike<\/a><\/p>\n

Shapiro then reportedly used the chance meeting to \u201clobby\u201d James to the Sixers \u2014 and now James is heading to his fourth team.<\/p>\n

James is signing with the Sixers on a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option.<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen if the 41-year-old would really play another two years, and he admitted on X that he nearly called it quits after last season.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u00a0thought I was done when the season ended,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t ready to announce it, and I knew I needed some time to really decide, but 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 deicide if I still love this game. I still truly love this game, and I have more to give.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, James is back for at least another season, and he\u2019ll try to add a fifth championship with the help of Maxey, Embiid, Brown and V.J. Edgecombe.<\/p>\n

Read more Coal dynasty heir arrested for strangling wife at $4M mansion\u2014 just days after he\u2019s released from Monaco jail<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LeBron James’ next stop was finally revealed on Friday, as he announced he was heading to Philly, and ESPN reported how several Sixers figures recruited him to join their team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\nHow the 76ers overcame underdog status to woo LeBron James in massive NBA coup - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5285\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How the 76ers overcame underdog status to woo LeBron James in massive NBA coup - 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