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LeBron James was introduced at Philadelphia 76ers media day after signing a two-year, $8 million veterans minimum contract. He said he joined the team to chase a championship and declined to set a timetable on his career.
CAMDEN, N.J. - LeBron James took his seat, fidgeted with a microphone and tossed his identification placard on the ground. You guys know who I am, right?
James asked. Sure do. No introduction needed. James, the most famous basketball player in the world and the NBA career scoring leader, was indeed wearing a No. 23 Philadelphia 76ers jersey.
LeBron James Signs With Philadelphia 76ers
The 41-year-old signed a modest $8 million, two-year veterans minimum contract with the Sixers. He said he is happy to play for the Sixers, happy to play with close friend and fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey and happy to start a 24th NBA season. He made no promises about how long his career will last. He is sure not in Philadelphia to lose.
I did not leave my family, James said Monday, to lose in the second round. James, Maxey, Joel Embiid and the other new star Sixers player, Jaylen Brown, were all on hand for media day. It came ahead of the start of training camp and what figures to be the most anticipated season in Philadelphia since Julius Erving heyday. James is the undisputed star of the show.
The usual assortment of beat writers and bloggers were dwarfed inside the Sixers complex in New Jersey by cameras and questions from media entities far beyond the NBA scope. James handled himself like a true professional, used to the global spotlight since he was put on a basketball pedestal as a teenager. Understand that the noise is going to be the noise, James said.
What happens outside of this building is going to consistently happen, and it is going to be doubled and triple and quadrupled down on you, he said. It just comes with the territory. I understand it. Much as James did for Cleveland when he ended a 56-year championship drought by leading the Cavaliers to the 2016 title, he is in Philadelphia largely to help snap a Sixers championship drought that stretches to 1983.
Sixers Enter a New Championship Era
I think the luxury of my game is, I can do everything, James said. Literally, I can do everything. The Sixers went 45-37 last season and were swept in the second round by the eventual champion New York Knicks. Enter a summer makeover anchored by James arrival.
James resume is beyond compare in NBA history. He is a 22-time All-Star, a 21-time All-NBA selection, a four-time Most Valuable Player, a four-time NBA Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star Game MVP and a member of the NBA 75th anniversary team. He is coming off a season in which he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. For his career, he has averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists in more than 1,600 games.
Him being here is really cool, Maxey said. With key members of Sixers ownership and the front office watching from the side, James declined to get into how much longer he wants to play. His lone focus, he said, was learning to play with new teammates and bringing a championship mentality to Philadelphia. Most of his new teammates, like Embiid, have not won a title.
James Shares Championship Experience
James won championships with the Cavaliers, Heat and Lakers and wants to share that experience. I hope that I can, you know, bring that experience, bring that knowledge, bring the blueprint to the guys that is trying to accomplish some things that they have not done in their career, James said.
I have seen everything that this league has to offer on the floor and off the floor, so I hope that every single day with my approach to the game, approach to the work, that it can translate to every single guy. James started his career in Cleveland in 2003 and spent seven seasons with the Cavaliers before heading to Miami for four seasons. He won his first two NBA titles there.
He then returned to Cleveland for four more seasons, including the 2016 title run, and left in 2018 for the Lakers. He won a title in Los Angeles in 2020. He also will not set a timetable on how many years he has left in his career. I do not want to speak on the future right now, James said.
I think that would be doing a disservice to myself on just living in the moment, especially knowing that I am where I am in my career, he said. Dan Gelston, The Associated Press
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CP24:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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