LeBron James has stunned the NBA world once again, signing with the Philadelphia 76ers in what is expected to be the last stop of his NBA career. It’s a two year deal, with a player option, and now the Sixers are the team to watch in the league next year.
James showed last season that he has plenty left in the tank and that he can thrive as a playmaker and secondary scorer. While the talk will be about the fit with him, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, and Joel Embiid, James’ arrival fixes this huge Philly problem.
LeBron James fills the playmaking need that the Sixers have been looking to fill
When Philly acquired Brown, that meant they would have three high usage players in him, Maxey, and Embiid. All three are not great playmakers, and while Maxey has improved in that area, he is at his best when he is looking for his shot.
Enter James. He is one of the best passers the game has ever seen and even as he has aged, that skill has still remained. Yes, James still has had a decently high usage, but he is coming to a team where he can be a distributor first and a scorer second.
The Sixers can hit their potential if they allow him to operate as the point guard and the last time James played point guard for a season, he led the league in assists. Yeah, that was six seasons ago now, but James showed last playoffs that he can thrive as a lead decision maker.
This elite skill will help Maxey, Edgecombe, Brown, and Embiid get easier looks all game. We saw the potential of a James-Embiid two-man action in the Olympics in Paris, especially against Serbia. James also loves Maxey and playing with a speedy, scoring guard is something that he has done before. The fit with Brown and James is a little awkward, which is why it would make sense to stagger their minutes and have them close together.
Overall though, Philly has had a banner offseason. This is a franchise that hasn’t made a conference finals or finals in two decades, and hasn’t won a championship in four decades. They have also been “trusting the process” for more than a decade now. One way or another, the process will end. But, James can help them find success again in this two year window.
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