Earlier this week, it was reported by ESPN that LeBron James, who has an argument as being the greatest player in NBA history, decided to sign a two-year $8 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. This decision, which James says will be his last, came after weeks of rumors and conjecture. While it was clear early that he would not return to the Los Angeles Lakers, there were multiple teams in the running for the 22-time All-Star.
Among those teams was the Miami Heat. Of course, James spent four seasons in Miami earlier in his career, winning two NBA Championships with them during that time. The Heat made the NBA Finals each year that James was on the team.
After Miami traded for two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, many believed that James could be lured back to the Heat with the prospect of playing alongside him. Obviously, that did not happen.
ESPN insider explains why LeBron James did not sign with the Miami Heat
Joining the 76ers means that James will end his legendary NBA career playing with stars Jalen Brown and Joel Embiid. Philadelphia also has a good young roster of players around their new Big Three, something that certainly played a role in the four-time MVP’s decision.
It also may be why he did not choose Miami, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst explained:
“The Heat, however, are a little thin after they traded four young players—Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis— for Antetokounmpo and lost All-Star Norman Powell in free agency. James’ focus on picking the team best positioned to win a title might have negatively affected the Heat’s standing. (And no,their YouTube gaffe didn’t play a role in this decision.)”
As Windhorst states, Miami had to trade away four young players in order to acquire Giannis. While the Heat boast a pairing of the 10-time All-Star and Bam Adebayo, they do not have the depth or youth that they had even a year ago.
It is also worth noting that Giannis has not played a full season’s worth of games for quite a while now.
In the end, the decision came down to which team LeBron felt gave him the best chance to win a fifth and final NBA title. Clearly, he felt that team was the 76ers.
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