And pandemonium ensues. Prepare to pay dearly to see his October debut in South Philadelphia.
The TLA on South Street welcomes LeBron James to Philadelphia. / Photograph by Bradford Pearson
Here we were expecting a slow summer Friday. Maybe get an early start to the Jersey Shore. Alas, this was not to be, because basketball legend LeBron James decided he just couldn’t wait until Monday to announce that he is joining the Philadelphia 76ers.
“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. I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and decide if I still love this game.
“I still truly love this game, and I have more to give. The last few weeks have really been special. I’ve never been able to have no clue what to do and take real time to just think. I’ve had an incredible few months with all the people I love trying to figure it all out. 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. 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. Thank you LA. Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always home!”
Naturally, the sports world in Philadelphia and across the country erupted. Within two hours, his announcement on X alone was viewed more than 14 million times. Celebrities both in and outside of the sports world weighed in with their reactions to his decision to sign a two-year, $8 million contract to come to Philly.
LeBron James, who just reached a deal to play for the Sixers in Philadelphia, with wife Savannah James in New York earlier this month / Photograph via Getty Images
Basketball sensation Caitlin Clark jested, “No way! I just pitched him for the Pacers. It didn’t get to him fast enough. The 76ers. Wow. Wow.” In the middle of a workout, Sixers star Tyrese Maxey, who was heavily involved in courting James for the Sixers, posted a rather joyous reaction to the news. Philly native and revered basketball coach Dawn Staley seemed similarly joyful, telling James and his wife, Savannah James, that she knows the Philly-area school districts in and out, in case they need advice on where to send their school-aged daughter, Zhuri. People from coast to coast are excited.
As for those of us in Philadelphia, excitement is an understatement. One of my colleagues saw a church funeral letting out this morning, just after the news broke, and waves of attendees were yelling, “We got LeBron!” and “LeBron’s a Sixer!” and “Oh My God!” “This man doesn’t know what he’s already done to this town,” my colleague told me.
And, as you can see above, Live Nation changed their TLA marquee within hours of the announcement.
But we’re left with more questions than answers. Just how much money will we have to pay to see LeBron James in his pre-season Sixers debut game on October 16th against the Celtics? Well, a quick look at resale site StubHub shows those prices heading in a meteoric rise. (There’s not a single seat in the first level going for less than $1,000, and that’s about double what it was at noon on Friday.) How long before Quinta Brunson writes LeBron James into an episode of Abbott Elementary? What Stephen Starr restaurant will LeBron James and Savannah be seen dining at first? And, perhaps most importantly, will LeBron James be a true game changer for the Sixers or will he be a disappointment similar to the thoroughly overhyped Ben Simmons, who was actually called “the next LeBron” before massively letting down his team and the city? We’re trusting in the process and believing in the former. See you at tip-off.
Victor Fiorillo
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