Be honest. You screamed.
Maybe out loud. Maybe internally, at your desk, while pretending to read an email. But when Shams hit send at 11-something this morning — LeBron James is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers — every single person in this city made a noise they were not in control of.
LeBron James. The Kid from Akron. Four rings, four MVPs, the all-time scoring king, 22 straight All-Star Games.
A Sixer.
Two years, $8 million, player option. The man made $52.6 million last season and just signed here for gas money and a shot at ring number five. Read that again and try to tell us the basketball gods don't owe Philadelphia one.
We Would Like to Formally Say: Told You
Three weeks ago we published an open letter to LeBron making the case for Broad Street. We said Cleveland was a thank-you card. We said Philly was the only city that could give a 41-year-old with everything something left to prove.
The national guys said Cleveland. They said storybook. They said he goes home.
They also said Nick Foles couldn't beat Tom Brady.
He picked us. Over the Cavs. Over the Heat. Over the farewell tour and the tribute videos. He looked at every soft landing spot in the league and chose the one city that will absolutely boo him if he shoots 4-for-15 in January. Because he knows what we know: that's the point.
This Roster Is Not Fair Anymore
Let's just line it up, because saying it out loud still feels illegal:
LeBron James. Tyrese Maxey. Jaylen Brown. Joel Embiid. VJ Edgecombe.
That's the greatest player of his generation, the best young guard in the East, a Finals MVP we stole from Boston a few weeks ago, a former MVP with everything to prove, and a rookie who plays like his hair is on fire. Plus Anfernee Simons coming off the bench like it's a video game.
And before anyone starts — yes, LeBron is 41. He also averaged 20.9 and 7.2 last season. That's his decline. Most guys don't have a prime that good.
He doesn't have to be 2018 LeBron here. He needs 65 smart games and a healthy May. Maxey carries the groceries. Brown guards the other team's best player. Embiid only has to be Superman for 25 minutes a night. And in the last five minutes of a playoff game, the ball goes to the man who's made ten Finals and seen every defense ever invented.
That's not a science experiment. That's a championship blueprint.
The Man Said It Himself
"I still truly love this game, and I have more to give." That's LeBron this morning. And then the sentence that should be printed on a banner and hung off the Ben Franklin Bridge:
"I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team."
Sir, we believe you. We have never believed anything harder in our lives.
1983 Was a Long Time Ago
The Sixers haven't won it all since Moses Malone promised fo', fo', fo' and nearly delivered it. Forty-three years. There are grandparents in this city who were in middle school for the last parade.
First it was Jaylen Brown. Now it's LeBron. This isn't an offseason anymore, it's a heist movie. Daryl cooked so hard the smoke alarms are going off in Camden.
Imagine the first home game when he walks out of that tunnel in a Sixers jersey — a building that spent two decades treating him like the final boss, flipping in one second to the loudest ovation of his career. Imagine Broad Street in June. A million people, most of them holding a beer, several of them climbing greased poles in a number 23 Sixers jersey.
We told him a Cleveland parade is a thank-you card and a Philly parade is a religious event. He chose the religious event.
Start Hydrating Now
It's July 24th, it's disgusting outside, the Phillies are in first place, and the Sixers just signed LeBron James. This is the greatest sports summer this city has ever seen and it's not particularly close.
October needs to hurry up.
Is this the most hyped you've ever been for a Sixers season? Wrong answers only in the comments.
He took less to be part of something. That's our whole identity. Welcome to Philly, Bron — the basketball collection is stocked, The Process is back, and the first cheesesteak's still on us.
