LeBron James, at 41, has made what may be the most consequential move of his career since the original 'Decision' in 2010 — this time picking the Philadelphia 76ers as the fourth team of his historic run, ESPN and NBA.com reported.
According to ESPN, James will sign a two-year contract worth roughly $8 million, the NBA's veteran minimum for a player with more than ten years of service, reportedly with a player option for the second season.
The deal ends weeks of speculation that trailed him through free agency. James reportedly also weighed a return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where his career began, and the Miami Heat, where he won two of his four championships, while the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves were mentioned as suitors too.
Unlike 2010, when he used a live ESPN special to announce he was 'taking his talents to South Beach', James explained this move in a statement carried by multiple US outlets: "This is my last decision. I'm not going for money. I'm not going for family. 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."
He also revealed how close he came to walking away entirely after the Lakers' season ended: "I thought I was done when the season ended. I wasn't ready to announce it, and I knew I needed some time to really decide, but I was pretty sure I played my last game."
What separates this decision from Miami in 2010 is that James is not walking in to reshape a roster around himself. Philadelphia's contender was largely built before he arrived: the Sixers had already acquired Jaylen Brown in an offseason trade that also saw them move on from Paul George's contract, according to PhillyVoice and CBS Sports.
That leaves head coach Nick Nurse with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, rookie guard VJ Edgecombe, Brown and now James all on one roster — a starting five CBS Sports described as potentially the most talented in the league.
Reports out of Philadelphia indicated Nurse was the only coach James spoke with directly during his deliberations, a detail that underlines how much the fit with an existing group, rather than his own leverage, shaped the choice.
The financial contrast with his recent past is stark. James is walking away from a Lakers salary reported at close to $52 million last season to play for roughly $4 million a year in Philadelphia — a pay cut he has framed publicly as evidence he is chasing a fifth championship rather than another contract.
Pennsylvania's governor marked the news by declaring 'LeBron James Day', Philadelphia outlets reported, a measure of the reaction in a city that has not won an NBA title since 1983.
For followers of the league in Israel, James remains a familiar name beyond the box score: he drew attention at this year's All-Star Game for warm comments about Israel and Israeli All-Star Deni Avdija, saying he hoped to visit the country one day. Whether that curiosity now extends to a Sixers team chasing a title will be one of the subplots of his 24th NBA season.
