LeBron James chose underdog Philly like Bryce Harper, Pete Rose, and Saquon Barkley. He chose us.
Charlie Hustle could've landed in New York, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, or KC. Manny Machado spurned the Phillies before Harper signed. They chose Philly, the home of 'insufferable winners.'
To witness the reaction to LeBron James’ decision to play in Philadelphia the next two seasons, you might have thought we’d beaten the Russians to the moon or ended the next world war. Folks drove down Broad Street honking their horns, heads hanging out of their cars. Total strangers standing on subway trains staring at their phones got the notification, looked up, and high-fived. Somewhere, lions lay down with lambs.
This, for a 41-year-old coming off the worst of his 23 seasons?
Yes. Yes. A thousand times, yes. But why?
Because Philadelphians won. They won the LeBron Sweepstakes.
The King chose Philly.
The King chose us.
Marcus Hayes alerts
James chose a franchise that hasn’t won an NBA title in 43 years, has only one title in almost 60 years, and hasn’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs in 25 years. He chose a city with three total championships since James was born in 1984; James himself has won four. He chose a city with a national reputation for abrasiveness, confrontation, and, above all, losing — a reputation resented by the residents of Philadelphia and its region.
Still: He chose us. He might occasionally commute to Philly from Manhattan, but he’s paying his taxes here.
If Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe again fall short in the playoffs, LeBron still chose us. He could have joined Steph Curry in San Francisco, Giannis Antetokounmpo in Miami, James Harden in Cleveland.
But no. We won. And we acted like it.
Phil Martelli, revered basketball coach and lifelong Philadelphian, knows why.
“I’ve had this in my head forever. People think we’re bad losers. That’s not what we are,” Martelli said. “We are insufferable winners.”
Validation
I’ve been a Philadelphian for 31 of my 57 years. Martelli’s been a Philly guy for all 71 of his. I told him that, in my three decades, I’ve observed that Philly has an inferiority complex, a chip on its shoulder, and a healthy sense of pride.
“No doubt,” Martelli agreed. “No doubt.”
So, when good things happen, a dam always breaks. From climbing greased streetlights to eating horse manure (this really happened), Philly fans have earned a reputation of, well, overexpression when the rare championship finally lands at their feet.
It is that rarity, that desperation for validation, that generates euphoria when a big name decides that Philly is good enough for him.
That’s the key: The decision must belong to the player.
That’s why Reggie White and Eric Lindros don’t qualify, since they were drafted. Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Roy Halladay, all trades or purchases.
Bryce Harper, however, already had won an MVP by the spring of 2019. The Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, and White Sox courted him. So did the Padres, until they signed Manny Machado, who, folks might not remember, was the Phillies’ first choice. But the fans always preferred Harp, and, ultimately, Harp preferred them. And he was only 26.
Similarly, by the 1978 offseason, Pete Rose had been a National League MVP, but he also was the MVP of one of his two World Series titles with Cincinnati. He was a stone-cold winner, and, even though he would be 37 in 1978, he was still the top free agent. The Phillies’ four-year, $3.24 million offer was the worst he received — others included more money, a lifetime $100,000 annual pension, oil and beer investments, and racehorse ownership — but Rose saw a winner in Philly, and Philly utterly rejoiced.
» READ MORE: The Phillies do ‘need some help’ by trades. But they also need some from Bryce Harper and his teammates.
Compared with Harper and Rose, there was less excitement (and less competition) when Saquon Barkley signed with the Eagles in 2024. The Bengals, Texans, Ravens, and Bears contended but the Eagles won, and Barkley, a Lehigh Valley native, came home, to much rejoicing. That season Barkley produced record-setting numbers and pushed the Eagles to a Super Bowl win, so it’s tempting to recast his choice as being a bigger deal than it was. He’s still never going to have to buy his own beer in Philly.
Saquon was the centerpiece of a run to the Eagles’ second Lombardi Trophy. Rose pushed the 1980 Phillies to the first World Series win in franchise history. Harper won a second MVP, in 2021, and led the Phillies to the 2022 pennant.
They delivered on their promise.
This seldom is the case.
Unfulfilled promise?
Age, injury, and Ryan Howard made Jim Thome redundant in the mid-2000s. Cliff Lee rejected the Yankees and took less to return to the Phillies in 2011, but to no good end. Jake Arrieta was a big-time bust, Lance Parrish was a late-80’s disappointment, Al Horford was a bad fit with Embiid, and Nnamdi Asomugha was cooked by the time he became a “Dream Team” Eagle in 2011.
LeBron never will be classified among Philly’s worst signings, if only because his two-year, $8 million contract earns him 33% less than Anfernee Simons (for casuals, Simons is the new backup shooting guard). LeBron would be a magnificent value at $4 million a year if he was an assistant coach.
» READ MORE: The Sixers now boast LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. How do they stack up in the loaded East?
Still, there are expectations. After LeBron signed, the Sixers’ aggregate odds to win the NBA title jumped from tied for sixth-best, at 20-1, to third-best, at about 9-1.
“You know there’s people already staking out spots on Broad Street for the parade,” Martelli said.
When Rose, Harper, and Saquon signed, everybody got excited. Nobody staked out spots on Broad Street.
The LeBron-mania is palpable. Ticket and jersey sales have been inflated beyond sanity and availability, with no real end in sight. Don’t expect Knicks fans to take over Xfinity Mobile Arena this season.
There has been excitement surrounding arrivals before, but never anything like this. The only arrival that might cause a similar disruption would involve a biblical rapture.
Like that king, this King will be expected to raise his following from the dead.
And, like that king, this King has chosen us.
