After one of the most anticipated moves of the offseason, LeBron James announced on 24 July that he was signing to the Philadelphia 76ers, instantly boosting them into NBA Finals conversations. Competing in the revitalised eastern conference, will they have what it takes?
LeBron James is one of the greatest — if not the greatest — basketball player in the history of the sport. Although he is 41 years old, James hasn’t lost a step. Last season, he played 60 games for the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 33 minutes a night, while scoring 21 points per game.
Unlike some of James’ past teams, he won’t have to carry such an intense load; Philadelphia has built an incredible lineup around him.
Before the LeBron signing, the 76ers shocked the league when news broke on the trade of Paul George to the Celtics for All Star Jaylen Brown this summer. Many deemed the trade to be one of the worst of all time, behind the famous Luka Doncic trade. In the 2023-2024 season, Brown led the Celtics to the NBA Finals, averaging 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and five assists, in five games — winning Finals MVP. Last season, Brown finished sixth in regular season MVP votes, averaging 28.7 points per game.
The 76ers also landed multiple free agents who will play meaningful minutes. Dean Wade, former Cleveland Cavalier, has shown in the past his ability to defend high level offensive players — look for him to get quality playoff minutes. Anfernee Simons, another former Celtic, joins the 76ers on a two year deal. He’s had an underwhelming couple past seasons, but a new setting may be good for him. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ariel Hukporti will both compete for bench minutes.
One of the biggest arguments against the 76ers this season will be a battle over who gets offensive touches, and lack of team chemistry and defense. There are some real questions when it comes to each of those categories, but the 76ers should be able to address all of them.
On paper, this team should be able to gel pretty well. Advanced data company CraftedNBA has an offensive stat called portability — which measures players on how well they would fit with 4 other random teammates — and puts NBA players into percentiles. In the starting five, LeBron, Maxey and Embiid are all in percentiles above 80 per cent. CraftedNBA also has a defensive versatility metric — Dean Wade ranks in the 97th percentile, and Jaylen Brown is in the 82nd percentile. In areas where some lack ability, the 76ers have found others to replace that gap.
The 76ers currently have the fourth best odds on Polymarket to win the finals, behind only the Knicks, Thunder and Spurs. Will Embiid stay healthy? Can LeBron get another ring? Who in the east will be able to stop them?
“LeBron Blows the Powder Away” by Eric Kilby is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
