LeBron James joins the 76ers for a record 24th NBA season
SportPulses Desk··4 min
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer leaves the Lakers after eight seasons and heads east to Philadelphia, joining Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown.
LeBron James will play a record-extending 24th NBA season in Philadelphia. The 41-year-old announced in late July that he was leaving the Los Angeles Lakers after eight seasons — a spell that included the franchise’s 17th championship — to join the 76ers.
He arrives in a roster with serious ambitions: Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe are all in Philadelphia, a franchise chasing its first title since 1983.
James is coming off a season in which he averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games while shooting 51.5 per cent, and he was named an All-Star for a 22nd consecutive year. In 10 playoff games he raised those numbers to 23.2 points, 7.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds.
The move also sets up a striking early-season storyline in the East, where the champion Knicks, a Giannis-led Heat and a LeBron-led 76ers now share the same conference.
Teams in this story
LA Lakers
Los Angeles · Crypto.com Arena
Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia · Wells Fargo Center