The Philadelphia 76ers have had quite the offseason, and it was topped off with LeBron James surprisingly choosing the City of Brotherly Love to finish his career likely. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, James will sign a two-year, $8 million deal with the 76ers.
Analyzing 76ers 2026 Offseason after Winning LeBron James Sweepstakes
James projects to make $3.89 million this year and $4.07 million next season, which is a player’s option. Charania added, on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show, that with the multiyear deal, “there is a strong likelihood LeBron James will not retire until 2028.”
.@ShamsCharania reacts to LeBron James signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on the @PatMcAfeeShow ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/W5De5Rb56e
— ESPN (@espn) July 24, 2026
While it is surprising that James chose the 76ers, it wasn’t a total shock. It was believed that James was down to the Sixers, Cavaliers, and Heat after also seriously considering the Warriors, Nuggets, and Timberwolves. Still, Cleveland and Miami were thought to have the edge due to their past relationships and location. Obviously, Cleveland is just 30 minutes from his hometown of Akron, and Miami has South Beach.
JUST IN: Ramona Shelburne says Rich Paul and LeBron James originally thought he would come back to the Miami Heat:
“I spoke to Rich Paul about that about an hour ago, he said for a lot of the time he thought it was going to end up being Miami. That seemed to be a nice fit and… pic.twitter.com/OufNTOyrpc
— Heat Central (@TheHeatCentral) July 24, 2026
Philadelphia is James’ fourth different team. The 41-year-old is the 76ers’ sixth newcomer, joining Jaylen Brown, Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, Labaron Philon Jr., and Ariel Hukporti. The 76ers now have 15 players on standard contracts, but they will have to make a roster move before James’ signing becomes official. His deal puts the Sixers $572,000 over the first apron, where they are hardcapped.
James will count for 2.35% of the salary cap this season.
Because he is signing a 2 year contract (no cap relief) Philadelphia will need to either waive one of their non-guaranteed players or make a trade to clear money.
They are $572K above Apron 1 as is. https://t.co/Oi4sn9pMs0
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 24, 2026
Dalen Terry figures to be the odd man out: his $2.53 million deal is fully nonguaranteed, while Jamari Walker‘s $2.53 million pact is mostly nonguaranteed, with just $250,000 already paid. Therefore, the Sixers will enter the season with 14 players on standard contracts, unless they swing a trade—aka a salary dump. In any case, it doesn’t appear that Bronny James is ticketed for Philadelphia, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne.
As for the impact of LeBron James’ decision on his son Bronny James, Rich Paul, the agent for both tells ESPN that “they are not a package deal” and there’s no current plan or request for Bronny Janes to join his father in Philly.
Bronny James recently had his contract…
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 24, 2026
How Does LeBron James Fit With The 76ers?
James is coming off a fantastic season, but his signing isn’t the only reason Philadelphia is at the top of the Eastern Conference. The 76ers jump to the top of the conference because they have one of the best starting units in the game, and now they have depth and versatility.
Embiid was reportedly instrumental in James ultimately choosing the 76ers. However, James’ agent, Rich Paul, told Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson that the Sixers only came into his purview after they acquired Brown. Paul added that James’ relationship with Maxey was also a factor.
Philadelphia’s starting lineup ranked in the middle of the pack this past season. The 76ers achieved this ranking despite Joel Embiid, who is still a top-5 center when healthy, and Paul George playing only a combined 75 of 164 possible regular-season games. The Sixers won 45 games and reached the Eastern semis thanks to the continued rise of Tyrese Maxey and the development of VJ Edgemcombe during the season.
Maxey produced a career season last year, earning his second All-Star berth and being an All-NBA selection (third team) for the first time. Meanwhile, Edgecombe had a solid rookie year and demonstrated two-way capabilities that he flashed with Baylor and the Bahamas national team. However, the consistency and efficiency weren’t always there.
The Sixers did lose two starters this offseason: George and Kelly Oubre Jr., who signed with the Indiana Pacers. Brown steps in as the starter alongside Maxey, Edgecombe, and Embiid. Therefore, that leaves James to start at power forward.
While James is not the heliocentric star that he once was, the 23-year veteran stabilizes the Sixers’ first unit and provides them another ball-handler and facilitator. The 76ers’ project to run their offense through Brown and Embiid, thus allowing Maxey and Edgecombe to become more movement scorers. Maxey will still handle the majority of ball-handling.
James’ ability to get into the teeth of defense and vision should provide Brown, Edgecombe, and Maxey, along with Simons, plenty of open looks from deep. His passing gravity also means more transition opportunities as he still loves to push the pace and excels at throwing the ball ahead. Even better news, when the 76ers are completely healthy, they can hide James on defense, thus allowing him to conserve energy for the playoffs.
James is not expected to play major minutes during the regular season. Adding James gives Nick Nurse plenty of options when Brown and Embiid need a break or when Embiid is unavailable (rest or injury). Nurse can now give the opposition multiple looks during games by mixing and matching James, Maxey, Embiid, Brown, and Edgecombe with the second unit.
Speaking of the second unit, Simons, Wade, and Barlow project to anchor the bench.
Grading The 76ers Offseason
Even before signing James earlier today, Philadelphia aced the offseason. The James signing solidifies the job that Bob Myers and general manager Mike Gansey have done building the roster.
The 76ers got a younger, more reliable player in the Brown-George trade and, at this point, the better player overall. Simons provides the Sixers a high-leverage scorer and creator off the bench while Wade is a versatile, plug-and-play forward who can guard all three frontcourt positions. Philon and Hukporti provide low-cost depth at point guard and center, respectively.
“On Friday morning, the Philadelphia 76ers became NBA title contenders, “ The Athletic’s Tony Jones said. “In a little over two months, the Sixers hired a new president of basketball operations in Mike Gansey and proceeded to turn in one of the biggest lemons-to-lemonade offseason leaps in NBA history. A team with no financial flexibility, the No. 22 pick in the NBA Draft, a few tradable first-round picks and a bloated financial commitment at the top of the roster became one of the most talented teams in the league.”
“As a league source, granted anonymity to discuss negotiations freely, told The Athletic on Friday morning, the 76ers became the chosen ones because they became the team best equipped to help James win a fifth NBA title,” Jones continued. “They were the team talented enough for James to commit to a two-year, $8 million contract. And they were the team that would benefit most from the many talents that James provides.”
76ers Projected Depth Chart
Starters
PG: Tyrese Maxey: 35-38 minutes per game
SG: VJ Edgecombe: 30-32 minutes
SF: Jaylen Brown: 32-to-35 minutes a game
PF: LeBron James: 25-to-28 minutes a game.
C: Joel Embiid: 28-to-30 minutes a game.
Bench
6th: Dean Wade: Wade will be the first big off the bench and projects to see 20-to-25 minutes, with most minutes coming at power forward and center. He also will see occasional minutes at the three and be a spot starter when James and Brown sit out.
7th: Anfernee Simons: Simons will be the first guard off the bench and projects to see around 20 minutes. He can play both guard spots. He will likely start if Maxey or Edgecombe misses time, though Nurse has options, including shuffling Brown, Edgecombe, and James up a spot and starting Wade at the 4.
8th: Dominick Barlow: Barlow produced a career season this past year, starting 59 of his 71 contests. The 6-9 forward projects to see most of his minutes at the 4 or 5 with some potential spot starts. Likely to see between 15 and 20 minutes.
9th: Justin Edwards: His minutes are very volatile and will come on the wing. The 22-year-old took a step back in his development after a decent rookie season.
10: Labaron Philon Jr: Philon was a potential lottery pick heading into the 2026 draft, but fell to the Sixers at No. 22. The 20-year-old is very talented and could work his way into a consistent role, though unlikely to see high minutes unless injuries, off the bench with a strong training camp. He was productive during summer league play, though he was inefficient.
11. Adem Bona: Bona will likely compete for the official title of backup center with Hukporti. The winner will likely start in the games that Embiid doesn’t. Otherwise, they will likely see 10 minutes per game. He has more upside than Hukporti.
11. Ariel Hukporti: Seen above with Bona.
Deep Bench:
13. Johni Broome: Broome, the No. 35 selection in the 2025 draft, didn’t spend much time with the Sixers, though he had a strong camapign with their G-League affiliate Delaware Blue Coats. He also was solid in his three summer league appearances earlier this month.
14. Jabari Walker
15. Dalen Terry
2-Way Spots
1. Caleb Love
2. Rayan Rupert
3. Open
Photo Credit: Kyle Ross, Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
