It was a collaborative effort to lure LeBron James to the Philadelphia 76ers this summer. Even at 41 years old, James was the hottest free agent on the market, and Philly was just one of many teams vying for his services.
Slowly but surely, the 76ers gained steam in the James sweepstakes until he finally announced he would be joining them last Friday. Besides Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Bob Myers making personal appeals, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro also got involved. According to his testimony, he ran into LeBron at a dinner last week, where he made his case for the 76ers in person.
“LeBron James was the only one who was gonna make this decision,” said Shapiro on the Stephen A. Smith Show. “I will say that when I saw LeBron James at a dinner about a week ago, I shot my shot, and I told him how Philly would love to have him, that he could win a championship here, and this would be a great place to bring his talents. He obviously made the decision for whatever reason he did, but I’m damn glad he chose Philly. Thanks to Rich Paul for taking us seriously. And Kudos to Mike Gansey and Bob Myers, who have been making moves this offseason. Now we have a frontcourt with two guys who know how to win a chip with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. It’s gonna be amazing.”
As the Pennsylvania Governor since 2023, Josh Shapiro doesn’t have any direct ties to the 76ers, but he’s an important figure in the community who knows practically all of the team’s executives. So when he saw an opportunity to appeal to LeBron James directly, he made sure to explain why he should pick the Sixers. Whether that conversation played a role in LeBron’s choice is unclear, but his mind was made up just a few days later.
Leading up to that announcement, LeBron’s decision-making process spanned across multiple weeks. Unlike his previous offseasons, everyone knew James would be signing for the veteran minimum (or close to it), opening the door for contenders like the Cavs and Heat to get involved. Behind the scenes, he was communicating with players throughout the process, and even had a secret meeting with Cavaliers executives that went completely unreported. With retirement on the horizon, money was no longer a concern, so teams had to find other ways to earn LeBron’s loyalty.
To start the summer, the 76ers were actually not even in consideration. It wasn’t until they acquired Jaylen Brown that they got LeBron’s attention, and what followed was relentless recruitment efforts from multiple people. In the end, LeBron couldn’t deny the chance at greatness in Philadelphia, and now he has a chance to add even more titles to his incredible track record.
It’s the outcome that nobody saw coming at the start of the summer, but you have to credit the 76ers for their perseverance and boldness to go all-in on the title pursuit. Out of all the teams, they seemingly wanted LeBron the most, and he responded by giving them exactly what they desired.
