newsweek
LeBron James made his fourth and final decision as an NBA free agent when he announced his intention to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, July 24.
ESPN's Shams Charania initially broke the news that James is signing with the 76ers on a two-year, $8 million contract, including a player option.
Charania cited Klutch Sports' Rich Paul, James' longtime friend and agent.
It took less than a nanosecond for reactions to pour in from around the sports world, and nobody was more excited than Dawn Staley, a loud and proud North Philadelphia native.
"Yo, Bron!" the Hall of Fame South Carolina head women's basketball coach said in a video posted to X.
"Philly?! The Sixers?! Yo, Philly.
Yo, Philly, yo, Philly, yo, Philly.
We got the King, y'all! We got the King! We got the King! Welcome to Philly, Bron.
Let me know if you need any spots." Staley then offered a message to James' daughter and wife: "Let me know if Zhuri needs any place to go to school.
We know the entire school district.
Savannah, we got you.
We got you! Bron! Bron! Good, great choice, my guy!" James, 41, departed the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent this summer and is entering his NBA-record 24th season.
The 22-time All-Star, four-time NBA MVP, and four-time NBA champion shared the lengthy reasoning behind joining the 76ers on X, as excerpted below: "I thought I was done when the season ended.
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.
Ive never been able to have no clue what to do and take real time to just think.
Ive had an incredible few months with all the people I love trying to figure it all out.
This is my last decision.
Im not going for money.
Im 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.
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 Ill forever love and Northeast Ohio will always [be] home!" The Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Golden State Warriors were also reportedly in the running to land James, with many insiders and pundits believing that James would opt to end where he began in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers drafted James as the hometown kid with the No.
1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft.
Miami became a popular prediction after the Heat acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks last month.
The Warriors were more of a pipe dream to watch James and Stephen Curry enjoy their swan song together.
From a purely basketball perspective, Philadelphia makes the most sense.
Joining up with Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, V.J.
Edgecombe, and Joel Embiid and leaving the Western Conference for the Eastern Conference gives James his best shot at making it back to the Finals one last time.
James already brought Cleveland its first championship in 2016.
He already won back-to-back NBA titles with the Heat.
In Philly, James can become the first player to win a championship with four different franchises in NBA history, per Kevin O'Connor, and 76ers fans have been starved for one since 1983.