The ring's the thing
James' choice of the 76ers is hardly unprecedented in NBA annals.
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No matter which team LeBron James chose in what we can only presume will be his final installment of “The Decision,” it would have provoked criticism.
After 23 NBA seasons, James has earned the status reserved for only a privileged few: legions of fans and at least as many haters. Despite a relatively pristine off-court profile and an unmatched resume on it, he’ll never please everyone.
To be clear: the made-for-TV original “Decision” to leave Cleveland and “take my talents to Miami” in 2010 was vain and ill-advised, and his reputation for flopping and whining to officials hasn’t endeared him to anyone.
Still, anyone who holds an actual grudge against him is likely doing so out of jealousy. Even Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert welcomed James back four years after disowning him, and Cleveland fans forgave and forgot pretty quickly.
Surely, there will be critics who knock him for joining the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million contract as simply a ploy to match the six NBA titles won by Michael Jordan, his competitor for GOAT status. (If you don’t think that competition is real and passionate, spend about 30 minutes on X.)
To that allegation, the proper response is: so what?
Aging athletes have been chasing rings in a Tolkien-like quest for as long as they’ve been presented to champions. Do you think Tom Brady threw darts at a board before choosing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his sixth Lombardi Trophy after his divorce from the New England Patriots, giving him one more than Bill Belichick? Yeah, right.
It’s happened a lot just in the NBA.
Wilt Chamberlain was 1-7 in playoff series against Bill Russell before he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and earned a second career title (and Finals MVP honors) in 1972.
A year earlier, Oscar Robertson capped his decade-long quest for a championship by joining Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and the Milwaukee Bucks. One of his teammates on that team, Bob Dandridge, helped the Washington Bullets claim their one and only title seven years after that.
The Houston Rockets took advantage of Jordan’s first retirement to win back-to-back crowns in the 1990s after trading for Clyde Drexler, who had played collegiately at Houston. And Kevin Durant bailed on Oklahoma City to join Stephen Curry and win a pair of championships with Golden State.
In almost all of those cases, these were brilliant players on the back ends of their careers who accepted supporting actor roles in pursuit of team success. Chamberlain was the most unstoppable scorer ever (with a 100-point game and a season average over 50), but he barely averaged double figures alongside Jerry West.
And with the exception of Durant, those legends were traded rather than moving via free agency. But teams parting ways with aging stars isn’t exactly new.
Chances are, James never really gave the 76ers much consideration before their stunning trade with Boston for Jaylen Brown. But if healthy — admittedly, a big but — a starting lineup of James, Brown, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe looks to be the strongest in the East, if not the league.
At age 42, James won’t have to carry as big a load as he has for most of his career. The NBA’s all-time scoring leader can pass, rebound and shoot when necessary. And he’ll be doing it at a fraction of his market price to make things work under the NBA’s complex salary aprons. (Not that he needs the money, but many stars would insist on every penny they could get, to the detriment of their team’s cap health.)
Time will tell whether James and the 76ers can fulfill each other’s needs. It will seem strange seeing him in a Sixers uniform — but no stranger than Jordan in a Wizards tank top, or Patrick Ewing as a Seattle Supersonic or Hakeem Olajuwon as a Raptor. (Look it up.)
It will definitely give the Internet something to talk about. (Finally.)