LeBron James has finally chosen his next chapter.
James is heading to the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million contract with a player option, his agent, Rich Paul, confirmed to ESPN. It will be the 41-year-old’s 24th NBA season.
The move puts him alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown in the City of Brotherly Love, making them one of the Eastern Conference’s premier contenders.
James explained the move in a series of posts on X Friday morning, saying he thought he was done playing at the end of last season. He also gave insight into his move to join the Sixers.
“This is my last decision. I’m not going for money. I’m 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,” James wrote.
The move comes a few weeks after James informed the Los Angeles Lakers he planned to play elsewhere in 2026-27, eventually waiting until well into free agency to finalize his destination.
LeBron’s tenure in Los Angeles was highlighted by a championship in 2020 at the Disney World bubble necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in February of 2023 and helped lead the Lakers to the playoffs in six of his eight seasons in the City of Angels.
The 2020 title was the fourth of James’ career, joining the 2016 championship he won with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and the two he won with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013.
Wednesday’s move marks the fourth time LeBron has changed teams. After being drafted No. 1 overall in 2003 by the Cavs and playing seven seasons in the arena he grew up less than an hour from, the Akron, Ohio native teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. Two titles and four NBA Finals appearances later, James re-joined the Cavs to play alongside star guard Kyrie Irving.
In perhaps his career’s greatest accomplishment, James willed the Cavaliers to a 3-1 series comeback in the 2016 NBA Finals against the juggernaut Golden State Warriors to deliver the Cavs their first ever title and the city of Cleveland’s first major men’s professional sports championship in more than 50 years.
James’ second go-around in Cleveland lasted four years and featured four more Finals appearances, making it eight straight stretching back to his time in Miami. LeBron then signed with the Lakers as a free agent in the summer of 2018.
Despite the mileage, James remained highly effective last season, averaging 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds while shooting .515 from the field. However, an injury to Laker co-star Luka Doncic down the stretch of the season proved too much to overcome as Los Angeles was swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round.
James will enter year 24 as a 22-time All-Star, a four-time MVP and a four-time Finals MVP. He is the NBA’s all-time leader in regular-season points (43,440) and games played (1,622).
