It's official: NBA superstar LeBron James will be joining the Philadelphia 76ers. That might be great for Sixers fans, but it's a devastating loss for the Golden State Warriors, Steph Curry, and their fans.
BREAKING: LeBron James is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option, Klutch Sports Group and Klutch CEO and Game Over show host Rich Paul tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/ALOlTkgdAV
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 24, 2026
The Warriors adding LeBron was their last chance to dramatically improve this offseason. Unfortunately for Golden State, with LeBron taking his talents to Philadelphia they now find themselves worse off than they were entering last year.
Curry and company are a year older and aren't noticeably better than they were 12 months earlier. Sure, they added lottery pick Yaxel Lendeborg, but he isn't likely to help Golden State get back in playoff contention, let alone championship contention.
LeBron James rejecting Warriors proves they aren't good enough
Given his options, it's hard to blame LeBron for going to Philly. After all, they have a far more talented roster than the Warriors currently have with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Jaylen Brown.
That's not to mention that that trio is all in their primes. Meanwhile, the Warriors are among the oldest teams in the NBA. Al Horford is 39, Curry is 38, Jimmy Butler is 36 and coming off an ACL tear, and Draymond Green is 36.
Adding LeBron to that mix wouldn't have made that team of contenders. In fact, if he were on Golden State, they would have been worse than last year's Los Angeles Lakers team.
With LeBron now in Philly, the Warriors don't have many options. They spent their off-season searching for a star to pair with Curry. It was a risky strategy that could have potentially panned out but didn't.
Steph Curry is stuck on an aging Warriors team
Still, things didn't go their way, and now they're left with an aging roster that can't compete in a loaded Western Conference. Remember, the West has gotten far better since last season.
The Utah Jazz added the second overall pick, Darryn Peterson, to a roster that already has two All-Stars. Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers will be fully healthy and will be adding Damian Lillard and Ja Morant to a team that won 42 games last year.
It's hard to imagine the Warriors being able to finish ahead of them in the standings. That's terrible news for Warriors fans considering Golden State finished with the 10th best record in the West last season.
It isn't all bad. With the NBA's recent lottery reform, Golden State finishing between 4 and 11 in the NBA standings would give them an equal shot at the number-one overall pick. That would be the only way they could improve dramatically in a short period of time after striking out on both LeBron and Giannis this summer.
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