LeBron James solves the 76ers’ biggest offensive problem

For the majority of Joel Embiid’s tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers, the power forward spot has, among other factors, served as a nagging hindrance against their title aspirations. 

Ben Simmons was averse to embracing the position and its typical physicality-oriented duties. Tobias Harris could not provide ancillary contributions like keen decision-making and defensive versatility while his supposed foremost trait of scoring proved mercurial in the postseason. Paul George’s health woes and on-court inconsistencies often left Philadelphia in a bind; his finest stretch as a Sixer was headlined by malleable defense, silky shot-making and grease-the-wheels passing to upset the second-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round last spring. 

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Over the past five years, all three players have exited the City of Brotherly Love, two via trade, one via free agency. In their stead is LeBron James, who signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Sixers after spending his past eight seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Despite nearing his 42nd birthday*, James remains a very good NBA player who can address weak points for the Sixers since they reshaped their roster by swapping George for Jaylen Brown earlier this offseason. 

*This will be the one time I acknowledge James’ age when discussing his skill-set. It is incredibly impressive he persists as such an impactful player this deep into his career. But I am projecting how he fits onto a team carrying championship hopes, not simply celebrating the staggering accomplishment. Through that prism, his game must be assessed without any age caveat. 

Most prevalently, James seriously invigorates Philadelphia’s passing attack and broadens the possibilities of the playbook offensively. Prior to his signing, a Brown-Embiid-Tyrese Maxey-V.J. Edgecombe quartet was severely lacking in the playmaking department. I worried how that group could decode stingy, ingenious playoff defenses to optimize their individual scoring talents together. 

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Now, James helps shore up that once-glaring deficiency, even if he’s not the ethereal offensive engine of five years…

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Publish date : 2026-08-17 13:39:00

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