LeBron James, Sixers agree to two-year, $8 million contract

King James is officially bringing his talents to South Broad Street.

LeBron James, a legendary player and one of the most famous humans on planet Earth, will join the 76ers on a two-year, $8 million contract. The news was first reported by ESPN, and James’ agency, Klutch Sports, confirmed the deal in a tweet.

The Sixers already shocked the NBA this offseason by acquiring All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics in a blockbuster trade. They then one-upped themselves by landing James in one of the more improbable roster additions in franchise history.

This second monumental move during a transformational offseason further illustrates that the Sixers are making the all-in push toward championship contention in a deep Eastern Conference.

New Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey has now assembled a starting five featuring arguably the best player of all time in James, a former NBA MVP in Joel Embiid, a five-time All-Star in his prime in Brown, and ascending guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. And James was willing to take a veteran minimum contract to join this group — and a historic franchise aiming to advance past the playoffs’ second round for the first time since 2001 and capture its first championship since 1983.

» READ MORE: Before Mike Gansey became a Sixers executive, he was a hard-nosed high school player who earned LeBron James’ respect

James chose the Sixers over bookending his career with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers or returning to the Miami Heat, where he won his first two NBA championships. The Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves also were reported to be in contention for James.

It took James nearly three weeks for his latest decision, essentially putting the second wave of NBA free agency on hold.

The Las Vegas Summer League, where NBA executives, coaches, and agents gather annually, came and went with more speculation than insight about where James would play next. James did not reveal his next playing destination during multiple public appearances at Fanatics Fest on Thursday and Friday, even after some light coaxing by fellow NBA star Tyrese Haliburton during a live taping of James’ Mind the Game podcast. Commissioner Adam Silver said even he was waiting on James’ decision so the league could finalize its 2026-27 schedule because James’ popularity demands prime television games.

It was worth the wait for the Sixers.

James’ basketball resumé could fill a book. He is the NBA’s all-time leader in points and games played, a four-time MVP, and a 21-time All-NBA selection. He has won four championships with three teams in the Los Angeles Lakers (2020), Cavaliers (2016), and Heat (2012 and 2013), and three Olympic Gold medals with Team USA.

And though James is no longer a perennial MVP front-runner at age 41, he is still a versatile, All-Star-caliber player with an exceptional basketball IQ.

Last season, he averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals, and particularly thrived as a third offensive option behind Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. James had a memorable performance in his most recent visit to Philly in December, scoring 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting — including a late tiebreaking three-pointer and another game-sealing jumper — in the Lakers’ 112-108 victory.

Now, James will team up with another dynamic young player for whom he has expressed fondness in Maxey. James and Maxey, who made an All-NBA team for the first time last season, are represented by Klutch and super agent Rich Paul. Maxey has worked out with James dating back to his predraft process in 2020.

“He loves Maxey,” Paul said on an episode of his Game Over podcast released earlier this month. “We don’t even need to talk about that.”

ESPN reported last week that Maxey, Embiid, and Brown had been recruiting James. Bob Myers, the president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and former lead executive during the Warriors’ dynasty, also went on Game Over to make his pitch to the Sixers.

James also has loose ties to Gansey, who played high school basketball in Ohio at the same time as James and worked in the Cavaliers’ organization for more than a decade. The first hint that the Sixers were a legitimate contender may have come from Gansey’s brother, Steven, who after the Brown trade posted a photo of Mike Gansey and James as high school basketball players in Northeast Ohio, and the eyeballs emoji.

Gansey told The Inquirer last week that he, “like the rest of the NBA,” was simply waiting on James’ free-agency decision.

“We’d love to have him in Philly,” Gansey said from the Sixers’ team hotel at Las Vegas Summer League. “I think he’d really, really help us and add to our group. But he’s making a big decision here. It’s wild [that], at his age, he’s playing at such a high level. But it’s not surprising.

“I have all the respect in the world for him, and he’s smart as heck. He’s going to figure it out and talk to his family, and we’ll be waiting. Whatever he decides, I know he’s going to make the right decision.”

When James informed the Lakers on June 30 that he would join another team in free agency, outsiders naturally connected him to his past stops in Cleveland and Miami as well as to the Warriors, where teaming up with fellow generational superstar Stephen Curry appeared tantalizing. Paul said publicly that James was prioritizing happiness and the opportunity to compete over salary at this point in his career.

» READ MORE: What the Sixers are saying about the Jaylen Brown trade, from ‘Oh, snap!’ to ‘It’s going to be special’

Sixers followers, though, unearthed memories — part joke, part lament — of when James considered Philly as a free agent in 2018 but did not personally attend the meeting with Sixers representatives. He instead signed with the Lakers, where he spent the ensuing eight seasons.

Yet after the Sixers pulled off the trade for Brown, which sent Paul George (and his hefty contract) and four draft picks to Boston, Philly began percolating as a possible James destination once again.

Paul went on his podcast and unveiled a whiteboard with James’ name pointing to five possible destinations: The Sixers, Cavaliers, Heat, Nuggets, and Timberwolves. The Warriors, Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, and New York Knicks were on the outskirts of that inner circle.

“Philadelphia, everything changed,” Paul said.

“Do they have [James’] attention?” cohost Max Kellerman asked.

“How could you not have the attention when you have Maxey, Edgecombe, Brown, Embiid?” Paul responded. “ … [James] enhances everything. He unlocks everything here.”

Now, that is reality. James is set to join the Sixers, in another NBA shocker and monumental roster move.