Category: NBA

LeBron James stunned the basketball world with his decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Of the final four suitors in the free agent sweepstakes, Cleveland and Miami seemed like the most probable landing spots for James. But the NBA’s all-time leading scorer shocked just about everyone with his two-year, $8 million deal with the 76ers.

Several former and current NBA stars reacted to the biggest NBA news of the summer.

Chris Bosh, a former championship teammate, was just as shocked as everyone else to learn of James’ final decision.

“Man, I didn’t see this one coming,” Bosh said in a video posted to his Instagram.

“I didn’t think he was gonna go to Philly, the weather and being cold. I was joking around that the old folks go to Miami and stuff like that. I guess not. The old guys still compete for championships, that’s what it’s about.

“This team is loaded. It was already pretty loaded. Now, I think this takes the Sixers overtop, not only as the favorites to win the NBA championship for next year but maybe for the next couple of years.”

On the Cousins podcast, Vince Carter didn’t mince words about James going to Philadelphia.

“That’s cheating,” Carter said jokingly, “because he doesn’t have to do much and still be him. Now your fifth starter has to guard one of those guys.”

Former Lakers teammate Danny Green was also stunned to hear James chose to sign a deal with the 76ers.

“I was like this can’t be real news, Shams is somebody hacking you, this can’t be real news, you know what I’m saying? Two-years, $8 million to Philly none of that was in the cards for me. So, yeah it was shocking, just as shocking as the Jaylen Brown news probably for me.”

There was also an unnamed former Lakers teammate of the 41-year-old, who told The Athletic he recalled James discussing how seriously he considered signing with the 76ers in 2018 before joining the Lakers.

Even Charles Barkley didn’t hold back in his reaction to James’ decision, going as far to say the four-time NBA champion stacks his team.

“The number one knock on LeBron for older guys like myself has always been, yo, man, you always stacking your team. He stacked it in Miami. He stacked it in Cleveland. He stacked it in LA. Now he’s stacking it in Philly. So that to me, I’m going to still have the same criticism I’ve always had,” Barkley said on The Stephen A. Smith Show.

Other athletes also weighed in on James heading east, especially those playing in Philadelphia.

Eagles star Saquon Barkley welcomed the NBA superstar via social media: “Welcome to the city? Let me know when you tryna tee it up @KingJames. “

Phillies star Bryce Harper, who made a free agency pitch to James last week, heaped high praise for the city and the imminent arrival of James.

“It’s obviously a great city to come play in, fanbase-wise, sports-wise. Feel like the city is in a really good spot with all the teams right now. Just a really good spot to be in,” Harper said.

Despite being the oldest active player in the NBA, James’ influence evidently spreads far and wide. Now, he’ll take his talents to the City of Brotherly Love.

The City of Bron-erly Love has welcomed a new superstar.

The basketball world was holding their breath all summer until Friday, July 24 when LeBron James announced that he is joining the Philadelphia 76ers.

The four-time NBA champion and league's all-time leading scorer was reportedly deciding between Philadelphia, joining Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors, a return to the Miami Heat or a comeback to his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Besides the sports world expressing their excitement, Philadelphia rejoiced at the news. The future Hall of Famer will join former NBA MVP Joel Embiid and 2024 NBA Finals champion Jaylen Brown, who was shockingly traded from the Boston Celtics earlier in the month.

More: 7 biggest winners and losers from LeBron James joining the 76ers

Vince Carter thinks the 76ers with LeBron James are going to be stacked.

The 76ers and LeBron James agreed Friday to the NBA’s veteran minimum on a two-year deal, capping off a major overhaul to their roster this offseason.

“That’s cheating,” Carter said one day before James was added by Philly on the show “Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady.”

Carter clarified by saying, “That’s cheating if he goes there, because he doesn’t have to do much to still be him.”

Carter noted that the 76ers are loaded on a roster that will include Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and V.J. Edgecombe.

Philadelphia also added Labaron Philon Jr. at No. 22 overall in the draft while also bringing in Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, and former Knicks center Ariel Hukporti.

The 76ers are also expected to bring back Adem Bona, Dominick Barlow, Dalen Terry, Johni Broome and Justin Edwards, who will provide depth on the roster.

Instead of asking the 41-year-old James to carry a franchise, Philadelphia can deploy him alongside Embiid, Brown, Maxey and Edgecombe.

James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds last season with the Lakers, proving he’s still an All-Star-caliber player in production, not just in name.

James was also the Lakers’ most effective player in the playoffs last season, averaging 23.2 points, 7.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds, leading Los Angeles to a Round 2 appearance, where they were without Luka Doncic and had Austin Reaves for six of 10 games.

The Sixers now feature one of the NBA’s deepest collections of proven talent, with a former MVP center in Embiid, one of the league’s fastest young guards in Maxey, an All-NBA-caliber wing in Brown and arguably the greatest player in league history in James.

The 76ers have immediately been bet up to being one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference, along with the Knicks.

Although the 76ers will likely not have James and Embiid for portions of the season due to expected injury management and possible actual ailments, given James’ age and Embiid’s history.

James missed 22 games last season, while Embiid hasn’t played at least 40 regular-season games since 2022-23 and has often faced injuries during the playoffs, as he did this past spring.

The NBA spent all summer waiting on LeBron James’ free agency decision, and the scoop went to a trading card company.

News of James’ two-year agreement with the 76ers was printed on cardboard and posted by the Topps social media team in conjunction with James in a collaborative Instagram post before any reporter or even the league could get their hands on the information.

ESPN’s Shams Charania was beaten to the punch when James’ free agency decision was released on social media, first posted by Topps trading cards at 11:30 a.m. ET and in tandem with James’ X account post where he gave a sentimental message to his fans.

View this post on Instagram

Topps had this announcement nearly a full minute ahead of Charania, who posted on X that James was taking his talents to Broad Street.

Multiple league sources confirm that the NBA was blindsided by this type of announcement, as Topps posted what appeared to be an already-autographed one-of-one trading card — perhaps signaling that this was in the works for some time.

The card itself that appears on the Instagram post is a real one that exists, but it is not yet autographed, sources with knowledge of the situation told The Post.

The source added that the image has been digitally modified to show what his autograph will look like on the card, and the actual signature on the card will be done in the coming days.

The NBA did not respond to The Post’s request for comment, and no league entities had posted anything on social media regarding James agreeing to sign with the 76ers for a league minimum contract with a player option for a second year.

NBA social media handles, as well as the 76ers’ accounts, have been radio silent, despite the bombshell news that has spread like wildfire.

James spent last weekend at the Jacob Javits Center for Fanatics Fest, an event that is put on by the Michael Rubin-owned company Fanatics.

Fanatics purchased Topps trading cards in 2022 for $500 million.

While at Fanatics Fest, James dropped a hint that he could be joining the 76ers, telling fans during a live recording of his “Mind The Game” podcast that he wants a team that will “trust the process,” a famous slogan of the 76ers.

Rubin and James recently crossed paths at Rubin’s private luncheon at the 40/40 club in New York City, Page Six reported last week — perhaps leading to this planned announcement between James and Topps.

This first part is where I tell you that, now that LeBron James made his decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s time for him to deliver.

This second bit is where I acknowledge that we hold him to an unreasonable standard.

Cruising social media in the moments after James surprised the NBA world Friday, July 24 and announced he would be joining his fourth different team, the prevailing sentiment was that a failure to deliver a championship in Philadelphia would derail James’ legacy. And while James’ addition does indeed make the Sixers a superteam, some pragmatism is in order.

This is not a player in his prime; this is one who will turn 42 years old seven weeks into the regular season. This is not a max player, but one who will sign a two-year, $8 million deal on the veteran minimum exception. This is not the 45-point Bron who silenced the TD Garden in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals as his team was facing elimination. This is a veteran who, in defiance of his age, remains relevant and productive.

Micah Parsons had one question after LeBron James chose Philadelphia over Golden State: Why does nobody seem to want to play with Stephen Curry?

“Nobody wants to play with my man Curry man I don’t get it!!” Parsons wrote on X. “All he do is win!! What is going on in the Bay!!???”

James became the latest major name to pass on Golden State, agreeing to a two-year, $8 million contract with the 76ers. The Warriors had spent weeks trying to sell LeBron on the notion of a final championship run alongside Curry and Draymond Green. But, James instead joined Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid.

For Parsons, the frustration was personal.

The Packers pass rusher has spent years defending Curry against critics and campaigning for him in basketball debates. During the Warriors’ 2022 playoff run, Parsons regularly celebrated Curry’s performances, compared his impact to Michael Jordan and continued backing him even when Golden State was eliminating the Dallas Mavericks while Parsons was still playing for the Cowboys.

More recently, Parsons took issue with Emmanuel Acho, who ranked Curry fifth among active NBA players at their peaks.

“I’m sorry, not having Curry first is disrespectful!” Parsons wrote.

Acho argued that LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo offered more two-way value. Parsons’ position was simpler: Curry’s four championships, two MVP awards and transformation of modern basketball should place him at the front of the conversation.

He has even turned Curry’s name into a universal compliment. When Travis Kelce began dating Taylor Swift, Parsons compared Kelce’s new relationship to reaching the god-like status of Curry.

That long-running admiration explains why James’ decision struck a nerve.

The Warriors have repeatedly explored adding another star as Curry’s championship window narrows, only to fall short with targets including James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George and a possible Kevin Durant reunion.

Curry remains one of basketball’s most accomplished and unselfish stars. Yet Golden State keeps discovering that his résumé alone cannot erase concerns about age, injuries, roster depth and the Western Conference.

Parsons may not understand why stars keep passing.

Warriors fans would probably like an answer, too.

The race for LeBron James is over.

James is signing a two-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. The 41-year-old’s decision was shocking given James had already won NBA championships with two of the four finalists in the sweepstakes: the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.

There was already some familiarity with the 76ers as James spent the last five offseasons working out with Philadelphia star Tyrese Maxey, who helped convince the NBA’s all-time leading scorer to join the organization.

But according to The Athletic’s Tony Jones, Joel Embiid was also a “heavy figure” in recruiting James. The 76ers big man kept in contact with James throughout his unique free agency process and reportedly vowed to get his body in playing shape, per Jones.

Philadelphia was aggressive in its recruitment process for LeBron as he was essentially the missing piece for a title run.

The 76ers were never regarded as the favorite in the sweepstakes for James, but the veteran began to view the team in a different light once the team acquired Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics. It was the blockbuster trade that propelled Philadelphia to the forefront of James’ list.

As he shared on social media, James believes joining the 76ers would make the organization a championship team. On paper, the new look Philadelphia squad will certainly be a lethal powerhouse in the East.

Philadelphia now boasts a starting five including James, Embiid, Maxey, Brown and VJ Edgecombe.

The already illustrious legacy for James can reach new levels by bringing an NBA championship to Philadelphia. It has been 43 years since the city last won an NBA Championship, headlined by Dr. J and Moses Malone.

The superstar has brought a title to every franchise he’s played for — will he do it again?

LeBron James had heard the pitches, studied the rosters and decided the 76ers gave him the best chance to chase another championship.

Before he could say yes, however, he needed approval from the people whose lives would be affected most.

“The last step was getting the family all on board and talking to everyone, from Savannah, Zhuri, Bronny James, who’s playing for the Lakers, to Bryce James at Arizona,” ESPN’s Shams Charania said.

That family meeting was more than a courtesy.

James’ move to the 76ers ends an eight-year run in Los Angeles, where his family built a life that now extends well beyond his basketball career.

Bronny remains with the Lakers, Bryce is beginning his college career at Arizona and Savannah has established her own business and media projects.

Then there is Zhuri, the youngest member of the family and potentially the person facing the biggest adjustment.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

James previously revealed that he pulled his daughter aside before making his decision public. He told her he would not return to the Lakers and acknowledged that playing elsewhere would mean spending less time at home.

“I pulled her to the side and I was like, ‘Baby, I’m letting you know. I don’t want you to hear from nobody else, but I won’t be playing for the Lakers next year. I will be playing somewhere else,'” James recalled.

“‘I won’t be home all the time. And you may not have an answer right now. You can give me an answer now. We can wait; we can write it down. I just want to know how you felt about it because you mean a lot to me. Me being away from you means a lot.’ So, the family portion is a big thing, too.”

James has always made his family part of his basketball journey. He spent years talking about his dream of playing alongside Bronny before the two finally became teammates in LA. Savannah and their children have also been present for nearly every major career milestone, including his record-breaking night as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

Philadelphia will make that closeness harder to maintain.

James will now play across the country from Bronny, while Bryce remains in Tucson. Savannah and Zhuri have not publicly indicated whether they will relocate, creating the possibility the family keeps Los Angeles as its primary home while James lives in Philadelphia during the season.

James’ two-year, $8 million deal was ultimately about basketball happiness and one more championship opportunity.

Getting his family comfortable with the sacrifice appears to have been the final — and most important —part of the decision.

LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency as he looks to chase another NBA title before calling it a career. The 22-time All-Star took a significant pay cut to do so.

After making nearly $53 million with the Los Angeles Lakers last season, James accepted a two-year contract worth the veteran minimum. The decision allowed Philadelphia – which already has two of the NBA's eight highest-paid players for 2026-27 in Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown – to be able to afford the 41-year-old superstar.

James' new deal with the 76ers will be worth just under $8 million over two years. He is set to make just under $3.9 million in the first year of his contract, which will mark the least he has earned during a single NBA season, coming in just short of the $4.02 million he made during his rookie season in 2003-04.

Just how cheap is James' deal for his first season in Philadelphia? A total of 292 NBA players will be making more than him during the upcoming 2026-27 NBA season, making James one of the best values league-wide.

The offseason isn’t technically over – we’re all waiting on pins and needles for the Mario Hezonja decision – but the transactions have slowed substantially, and it looks like the Jazz have the majority of their roster set for the 2026-2027 season. We’ve consistently been told that this past season was the last in terms of tanking in Salt Lake, so high expectations were placed on the offseason – what would the Jazz do to finalize the roster destined to lead the organization back into relevancy?

For the most part, the national media has been favorable to the choices the Ainges and co. have made thus far. Here’s a quick round-up of the grades the Jazz have been assigned for their offseason moves;

ESPN: A

Bleacher Report: A

The Athletic: B+

CBS Sports: B+

NBC Sports: B

These publications tended to applaud Utah’s selection of Darryn Peterson and the return they received for Walker Kessler, but those who assigned a lower grade worried that losing Kessler will be an unfillable hole for a team trying to be formidable this coming season.

However, these huge websites that cover the league as a whole sometimes struggle to accurately understand the minutia of a teams offseason, which is understandable – it’s impossible to watch every game for every team, so a perfect comprehension of how important Jusuf Nurkic is in Will Hardy’s offense may be difficult to achieve.

Today, we’ll be setting aside the national consensus to grade every single Utah move (trades, signing, draft picks, everything) this offseason from a Jazz fan’s perspective, before assigning a cumulative grade for this pivotal offseason.

June 23 – Selected Darryn Peterson at #2: A+

While selecting Darryn Peterson at #2 wasn’t some novel idea, the Jazz still deserve tons of credit for sealing the deal and choosing the best player on the board. It required a bit of luck and more than a bit of credit given to the late-season Sacramento Kings, but jumping up to #2 and having the opportunity to put a truly special prospect in Utah-Purple is the type of move that immediately changes the trajectory of a franchise. All of the team building moves from the course of the rebuild (selecting Keyonte George, trading for Jaren Jackson Jr., and all of the tanking) post hoc bumps to their letter grades, because, with Darryn, they were all justified – trust was given to a process that, in hindsight, looks to be genius.

June 29 – Signed Jusuf Nurkic to a 2 year, 22 million dollar contract: A

This is, by my money, the most underrated and underdiscussed move of the offseason. There was about a week in June where I was sure that Jusuf would prove to be too expensive for Utah to retain – after rehabilitating his career, he would collect his payday and potentially finish his career on some bottom feeder with extra cash. However, Jusuf proved he was being honest in saying the Jazz have been the best organization he’s played for in his 12 year career by resigning on a rather team-friendly deal. The Jazz have a roster built on crisp off-ball movement – Peterson, Bailey, Markkanen, and Jackson are all best being set up by a creator – and Nurkic proved to be the perfect fit for this system, averaging a career high in assists per game with 4.8. Utah couldn’t afford to lose this level of passer, and ensured their offense will continue to run smoothly in 2027 by bringing back the Bosnian Beast. While there’s a chance that this past year was only a temporary blip from the downward trend that it appeared Nurkic was on, this deal was a huge win for a team in need of playmaking and (after the Kessler trade) big man depth.

July 1 – Signed Jaxson Hayes to a 2 year, 12 million dollar contract (2nd year team option): C

I understand both the upsides and downsides of the Jaxson Hayes signing. In theory, he fills an archetype that the Jazz need – he’s big and athletic and offers a much different look at center than the Jusuf Nurkic minutes. However, the jury is still out on if he is an actual positive of an NBA player, or if Luka Doncic, perhaps the best player in the league at making big men look better than they are, transformed Hayes into a legitimate center through sheer tyranny of will. Additionally, while I think it is near impossible to give a final verdict on a player’s character without knowing them personally, Hayes’ off-the-court actions are an undeniable aspect of the package a team gets when they bring him in, and it is a stain that I’d rather not have on the Jazz. I expect Hayes eats up regular season minutes without doing too much harm, which is valuable enough…and hopefully all we’re asking him to do; things could look ugly if Hayes is playing a real role in the playoffs.

July 3 – Signed Tamar Bates to a two-way contract: B+

The marginal transactions, while important (champions are built off of strong moves at the margins), are often harder to grade. Just how positive can I be towards a signing of a player that will likely never play meaningful minutes for the franchise? Ultimately, I decided to grade transactions relative to their contract tier and corresponding talent pool – even though it’s a strong possibility that Bates never becomes a household name while playing in Utah, compared to the other players they could’ve signed for this two-way slot, it is still a relative win. I like Bates quite a bit – he’s long, he shoots, he moves with the fluidity of a pro – so even though his natural position (shooting guard) is probably the most stacked on the team, meaning that playing time is exceptionally unlikely, he’s still a net positive signing on a two-way contract.

July 3 – Signed Josh Okogie to a 2 year, 12 million dollar contract: A-

I have my doubts about Josh Okogie – his shooting is volatile, he offers nothing on the ball, and he’s too short to reliably be our answer against bigger wings defensively. However, you can’t complain too much when you obtain a necessary archetype (non-stop hustler who defends tenaciously and has some nasty to his game) on a short term, low risk deal. Okogie isn’t a perfect player, but he still started nearly half the contests for a Rockets team that won 52 games. I lowered the grade a bit because the Jazz have such an overflow of players of his position (Svi, Konchar, and Brice all already had reasonable cases to be the backup shooting guard), but this deal is a big-time win for the Jazz either way.

July 7 – Signed Trey Alexander to a two-way contract: A-

We weren’t able to see much of Alexander in Summer League before his unfortunate injury, which has tainted the deal a bit, but, nonetheless, the Jazz once again made a good choice in selecting a player for a two-way slot. Alexander isn’t the most explosive point guard, and he’s had a habit of over dribbling all the way back to his time at Creighton, but he’s been exceptionally productive in the G-League, fills a position of need, and is immediately one of the better passers on the roster. This is a low risk signing of a player who is likely one injury to either Keyonte or Collier away from getting real minutes (I hope you’re all knocking on wood).

July 8 – Traded Walker Kessler to the Lakers for 2 1st-round picks and 2 1st-round pick swaps: A

The word surrounding Kessler and the Jazz before the trade was that the Jazz wanted him and needed him and were going to keep him no matter what. But, when the Lakers sent the Jazz brass their sign-and-trade offer, they proved once and for all that everyone has a price. Utah ultimately came away like bandits – they saved money for when the young core starts demanding their big contracts and got paid immense amounts of draft capital to do it. Don’t mistake me, the Jazz will be substantially worse for it this coming season – the Kessler and JJJ front court was poised to finally fix the team’s defensive woes, and it looked like Kessler was ready to make an offensive jump after his first 6 games of the 2025-2026 season. It hurts to lose him, no doubt about it; that’s what keeps this move from being an A+. However, with this trade, the Jazz are having their cake (being relevant this year) and eating it too (maintaining future flexibility). Kessler was good, but this was the right move.

July 10 – Signed Mo Bamba to a 2 year, 7.2 million, partially guaranteed contract: A-

Again, let me clarify – the A- grade I gave to this signing isn’t anywhere close to as impactful to the Kessler trade, which received an A. However, I’m grading this deals relative to what they are, and what this deal is is a a low risk, partially guaranteed bet on a toolsy center who has now spent his fair share of time practicing in Coach Hardy’s system. I’m not sold on Mo Bamba as a legitimate player quite yet, but the structure of the deal is so team-friendly that you can’t get very mad. Bamba has been coming in and out of the Jazz system for a while, and hopefully in that time he has gained a solid understanding of what Hardy asks for from his players. The best case scenario is Bamba finally makes it all click, and is a perfectly acceptable backup center on a steal of a contract. He has the tools to make it work… but that may be all he has. Still, the worst case scenario is the Jazz move on, being no worse for wear, and still have multiple options at the backup center spot. The move is low-stakes, and could be end up being a real win on the margins. The Jazz keep making bets on this player; let’s see if this one works out.

Final Grade: A

At the end of the day, it looks like the national media generally got it right. Each of the Jazz big-time moves (or moves involving players that will be or would’ve been playoff players) were big-time wins – Jusuf is back on a team-friendly contract, Kessler is gone but you couldn’t have asked for more in terms of the return, and obtaining Peterson is such a home-run than maybe nothing else this past month will end up mattering at all. On the margins, the Jazz continued their shrewd ways, crafting deals that, for the most part, filled holes and don’t hurt our long-term books. While I wish more emphasis was placed on obtaining a backup ball handler, the Jazz still built a roster that is worthy of their first season in years with genuine expectations placed upon it. Finally, finally, they have something to compete for, and this offseason shows that the front office understands the gravity of that situation.

What have been your favorite moves of the offseason? Least favorite? Sound off below!

Greetings, Panthers fans. Welcome to the weekend.

Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-football sports, you name it. As long as it’s allowed by the site’s ToS, it’s fair game here.

You know the drill.

This is now an open thread

The Cleveland Cavaliers are bumping into the harsh realities that come with recently being above the second apron. Their main goal this offseason was to add a 41-year-old LeBron James to a contract that is far below market value. With the opportunity of doing so out the window, they’re now left to pivot to imperfect options to fill out the rotation.

If the Cavs want to advance to the conference finals or further next season, they will need some of their young players on cost-controlled contracts to provide meaningful minutes. As of now, Jaylon Tyson is the most likely candidate to do so.

Tyson took a meaningful step forward last year in his second season. He showed that he could be a knock-down three-point shooter who provides great energy on both ends of the court. That was much needed for a team that was often stuck in neutral for the first half of the season due to their wide array of injuries.

The improvement he showed last season has Cavs fans optimistic he can take another step forward. Sixty-two percent of fans surveyed earlier this week believe that he has the brightest future among recent draft picks.

While Tyson was the guy fans think has the brightest future, there were plenty out there that believe in Meleek Thomas.

Thomas was impressive this past month in Las Vegas. He led Summer League in scoring, while earning himself a spot on the All Summer League First Team. Summer League success doesn’t always translate to the NBA, but there’s plenty of reasons to be excited about the incredible scoring display Thomas displayed in Vegas.

We’ll see what kind of impact both can make on the Cavs this upcoming season.

The Eastern Conference is shaping up to be much more formidable this season. According to FanDuel, the Cavs have the sixth-best odds to win the conference at +1200. They trail the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, and Detroit Pistons.

President Donald Trump picked Michael Jordan over LeBron James on Friday when asked to weigh in on the debate over the greatest player in NBA history.

Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy raised the question after James agreed to a two-year, $8 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

Trump cited his relationship with Jordan and his contentious history with James while explaining his choice.

“Michael Jordan is a guy that’s a friend of mine. I play golf with him. He’s a really good guy,” Trump said. “I think LeBron is maybe he’s a racist, but maybe he doesn’t like Trump. I don’t know. I only like people that like me, so I would say Michael Jordan all the way.”

Trump did not compare the players’ basketball accomplishments.

Jordan won six NBA championships and five Most Valuable Player awards during his career. James has won four championships and four MVP awards and is the league’s career scoring leader. His move to Philadelphia will extend his career to a record 24th season.

Trump and James have publicly criticized each other for nearly a decade.

James endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and later criticized Trump’s handling of issues involving athletes and professional sports. In 2017, James again questioned Trump after the president withdrew a White House invitation to the champion Golden State Warriors amid Steph Curry’s reluctance to attend.

Their dispute escalated in 2018 after James said during an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon that Trump was using sports to divide the country. Trump responded on social media by insulting James and Lemon before writing, “I like Mike.”

Jordan defended James afterward, saying he supported the NBA star’s work in his community.

Trump also chose Jordan when asked about the debate in 2020. At the time, he said Jordan’s limited public involvement in politics made him more popular.

Trump reached the same conclusion Friday.

The long-awaited decision of LeBron James has now been made, and he is headed to the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year deal with the franchise. With that move, he will now share the court with one of Big Blue Nation’s favorites, Tyrese Maxey.

Also with the organization is Justin Edwards, who is still trying to get his feet wet in the NBA heading into year three. 

Maxey went to Instagram to share his reaction when the news broke Friday morning, and said he is “like Coach Cal” after landing his own prized recruit in LeBron James.

In all seriousness, what a shocking move! LeBron James will be joining a team that was already viewed as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference, and now bumps those odds up even more. A team with Maxey and James on it, with Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, VJ Edgecombe and many other talented pieces, is crazy.

LeBron said in his statement today that he “still wants to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.” Well, not many other teams he could’ve joined give him as good a chance as the 76ers do at this point in the offseason. James has decided not to end his career back in Northeast Ohio with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where it all started, but is headed to Philadelphia to end his Hall of Fame career.

This could mean that the streak of Kentucky players winning an NBA championship may continue with a new team and a new face winning it all. In three of the last four years, we have seen a former Kentucky Wildcat win the Larry O’Brien trophy.

The Knicks winning this last one gave Karl-Anthony Towns a ring; the year before, it gave Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a ring and his teammate Cason Wallace with the Oklahoma City Thunder; then, in 2023, Jamal Murray won one with the Denver Nuggets.

Will we be able to add Tyrese Maxey and Justin Edwards to that list soon?

Editor's note: Get live updates on LeBron James joining the Philadelphia 76ers here.

Having LeBron James as a teammate must feel like winning the lottery.

Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe seemed pretty stoked after the NBA's all-time scorer announced he was joining the team with a two-year, $8 million contract on Friday, July 24.

Edgecombe, who won the Rising Stars Challenge MVP award at this year's NBA All-Star festivities, posted the celebration to his Instagram stories shortly after the news broke. He shared a photo of himself holding his hand to his head looking up at the camera smiling in the same way as James' famous "Smiling through it all! Can't believe this my life" Instagram story.

After James made the original post in 2018, the pool photo and caption instantly became a meme. His son Bryce also posted a version of the photo in 2024.

VJ Edgecombe recreated LeBron’s “Can’t believe this my life” meme on his IG stories upon hearing the news that the King was going to be his 76ers teammate 😂🏆 pic.twitter.com/KFoLhNYUWK

— Victoria Hernandez (@LadyViii) July 24, 2026

The four-time NBA champion was reportedly deciding between Philadelphia or a return to the Miami Heat or his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, after leaving the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason.

James will join 2022-2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid and 2024 NBA Finals champion Jaylen Brown, who was shockingly traded from the Boston Celtics earlier in the month for Paul George and four draft picks.

Edgecombe is among several other notable figures who reacted to James' decision. Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro declared the day LeBron James Day, Philadelphia native and basketball icon Dawn Staley was thrilled, and Philadelphia Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley offered a warm welcome.

The 2026-2027 NBA schedule has not been released yet, but the 76ers open preseason with a game against the Celtics on Saturday, October 10. This past season, Philadelphia made it to the conference semifinals where they were swept by the eventual champion New York Knicks.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: VJ Edgecombe celebrates LeBron James joining 76ers with 'Can't believe this my life' meme