The King has had an iconic journey to become the best basketball player in the present day world. LeBron James made his debut in Cleveland back in 2003 and made an immediate impact by winning Rookie of the Year. Since then, he has been to eight NBA Finals, winning three of them and receiving and three NBA Finals MVP’s. He was given the nickname,”The King” as he was on Cleveland’s iron throne for 7 years, before he headed to take the throne of Miami. LeBron then won two championships in Miami and asserted himself as one of the greatest athletes on the planet.
The next chapter was his return to Cleveland, to get his hometown a ring. He fulfilled the prophecy and became a god in that city. Now, the year is 2018, and at the age of 33, LeBron must look himself in the mirror and decide what he wants his future to be. Does he want to keep ring chasing, join another “Big 3”, and partner up with tenured veterans with big egos to overthrow the Warriors? Does he stay loyal to his hometown and try to win another ring for Cleveland? Or, does he take a leap of faith, and join a team that is on the up like the Philadelphia 76ers?
I know what you all are thinking, this article is being written by a Sixers fan, so this is going to a bias opinion. I can say that until a few weeks ago, I did not think there was a shot in hell that LeBron James would be in a Sixers uniform in my life. I kept saying on my podcast, “The Phifth Quarter” that he would either stay in Cleveland or take his talents out to the city of Angels, to join a new “Big 3” to take down the Warriors. Think about it, LeBron would possibly have Paul George, another free agent signing, and core young players around him if he would go to the Lakers.
via Discover Los AngelesI was excited to see him play in the All Star Game at the Staples Center, to see how the LA fans would embrace his presence. The day after the game, my expectations changed as I felt this was a chance for LA fans to persuade James to come with billboards, posters, and promotions. Then I stepped back and thought, LA doesn’t need LeBron James, it’s California. What I mean by this comment is from being out in Los Angeles for a stretch earlier this year, I learned that sports are not a priority to that culture. Fashion, music and Hollywood run that town, with sports being a side option. The weather is phenomenal, as people would rather go to the Santa Monica Pier than sit and watch a Lakers game for an expensive price. Sports do not run LA, Hollywood runs that city, unlike Philadelphia.
In Philadelphia, we thrive off our sports teams. For example, the Eagles won the Super Bowl a month ago, and the city is still feeding off the energy. I have never been in Philly, a blue collared and gritty town, where everyone wouldn’t greet you with a smile and say “Go Birds”. This city has that drive and passion for success for our teams unlike LA. The Eagles played the Rams in the Coliseum this year and if you put a blind fold on me, I would have told you this game was being played at Lincoln Financial Field, Eagles home turf.
Another example of how large of an impact we make on the sports world was this past Monday, when a Philly-based business in Cleveland put up a series of billboards advertising for LeBron to come to the 76ers. The billboard had the starting lineup with a red number 23 put in the picture. This was the first step in triggering the national media to bring the discussion of LeBron and the 76ers to light.
The answer is simple, yes. When you are the greatest player in the world or the greatest leader in the world you can make anything work. If I am having a conversation with someone and they told me, “You know what, I do not really want Bill Gates to come to our technology company, I really do not think he makes our company better”, I probably would walk out of the room and never talk to that person again. It is the same comparison to “The King”, as he would automatically get us to the Eastern Conference Finals, and then lead us to the Finals. This city already has Carson Wentz, why not keep the good times rolling with LeBron James?
We all know that Ben Simmons and LeBron share the same agent in Rich Paul. Ben Simmons has been dropping social media hints at the possibility of LeBron coming to the 76ers all year. During all star weekend, Simmons dropped the social media world with an Instagram post with James and Rich Paul, with a caption saying ” June 30th Midnight”. As we all know, July 1st is the first day of free agency, and LeBron will likely decline his player option, making him a free agent this summer. I got to watch Joel Embiid and LeBron play against one another in the All Star Game, and James even made a comment saying, ” I thought he was athletic, “That was the first time playing against him. Physically, I thought he was really imposing. He’s one of the best players in the game right now.”(NBCSportsPhiily)
The pieces to this puzzle are slowly falling into place, but the final act of me jumping all in on LeBron to Philly was him visiting Philly prep schools for his son. There are reports that he visited a school outside the city of Philadelphia, and I have two sources of an employer and a student from that school who confirmed this for me. There have been rumors about this situation and many reporters denied this claim, but this in fact did occur.
The bottom line is LeBron James is at crossroads in his NBA career. I feel that he wants to come help Ben Simmons become the next King of the league and pass his torch to the future Rookie of the Year. With the addition of LeBron, this city will be high on life for years to come, and this city deserves this after five years of the process. Some critics say they want to see the process grow without a superstar coming into the picture, but wasn’t this the plan? I thought the purpose of the process was so we are not mediocre, finishing 7th or 8th in the standings like we did after Allen Iverson left? We stock piled pick after pick and we got blessed with talents like Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and even Dario Saric, so now lets complete this journey with the addition of “The King”.
See you soon LeBron James.
Sincerely,
Philadelphia
