LeBron James is taking his talents to the City of Brotherly Love.
The 41-year-old NBA legend and the league’s all-time leading scorer announced Friday that he is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers, ending weeks of speculation about where he will finish his Hall of Fame career, which began in Cleveland and has included stops in Miami and Los Angeles, with a return to Cleveland in between. He won championships in all three cities.
In a series of posts on X, James, who spent the past eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, said this decision would be his last.
“I thought I was done when the season ended,” James wrote. “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 deicide 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,” he continued. “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.”
Then came the big reveal: “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!”
James also posted a video to Instagram with career highlights set to “Dreams and Nightmares” by Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill. It concluded with an image of the 76ers logo as Mill sings, “Y’all thought I was finished?”
‘The Decision’ TV special
The Instagram video and X posts announcing his move to Philly were far different from The Decision, the live 2010 ESPN television special in which James announced that he would be leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted him out of high school in nearby Akron, Ohio, to sign with the Miami Heat.
Or, as James infamously put it: “I’m going to take my talents to South Beach.”
The announcement came 30 minutes into the 90-minute broadcast, which was filmed at the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, Conn., and raised more than $2 million for the nonprofit.
But James received a ton of backlash for the show, which critics saw as an arrogant and self-serving spectacle. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert called it a “cowardly betrayal,” a sentiment that many Cavs fans agreed with.
That is, until James decided to return four years later.
The ‘I’m Coming Home’ essay
LeBron James during Cavaliers game in 2016.
(Greg Nelson via Getty Images)After four seasons in Miami, which included winning back-to-back NBA titles, James announced his decision to return to Cleveland in a 2014 essay for Sports Illustrated.
“Remember when I was sitting up there at the Boys & Girls Club in 2010? I was thinking, This is really tough,” he wrote. “I could feel it. I was leaving something I had spent a long time creating. If I had to do it all over again, I’d obviously do things differently.”
“When I left Cleveland, I was on a mission. I was seeking championships, and we won two,” James continued. “But Miami already knew that feeling. Our city hasn’t had that feeling in a long, long, long time. My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question. But what’s most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio.”
The one-line press release
James, who played his first seven seasons with the Cavaliers, said he “always believed that I’d return to Cleveland and finish my career there.”
But in 2018, two years after winning a championship with Cleveland, James had another geographic epiphany, signing a four-year, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The announcement came in a 36-word press release from his agency, Klutch Sports Group.
The agency later tweeted a photo of James flanked by his agent Rich Paul and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka after he signed the contract.
On Instagram, James posted a message thanking the Cleveland area for embracing his return.
“Thank you Northeast Ohio for an incredible 4 seasons. This will always be home,” he wrote.
This time, Gilbert did not feel so spurned.
“Words do not express the meaning and the feeling this accomplishment brought to the people of Northeast Ohio,” Gilbert said in a lengthy statement thanking James. “None of this would have happened if LeBron James did not agree to come back home and lead the Cavaliers to the promised land.”
