Why its championship or bust for LeBron James final act with 76ers

LeBron James had a lot to weigh. After deciding to return for his unprecedented 24th NBA season, he needed to choose where he would play.He mulled over his options for 24 days.Or 576 hours.Or 34,560 minutes.

Various factors tugged at his heartstrings for what would be the swan song for one of the greatest athletes of all time. There was the family factor.His wife, Savannah, 11-year-old daughter, Zhuri, and son, Bronny, are in Los Angeles.

There was the happiness factor.Golf had become his new passion.

There was the legacy factor.Returning to Cleveland, where he was selected as the No.

1 overall pick in 2003, would be the perfect storybook ending. Ultimately, James didn’t prioritize any of those things. The player who devoted his life to greatness, showing up to arenas five hours before games and three hours before practices and missing countless family celebrations, decided to chase what has motivated him for two decades. Winning a championship. James stunned the basketball world Friday morning by agreeing to sign a two-year, $8 million deal with the 76ers. He doesn’t have history in Philadelphia, as he does with Cleveland and Miami, where he won three of his four championships.He doesn’t have deep ties to the players on the roster, as he does with Draymond Green and Steph Curry in Golden State. But he believes the 76ers give him something that has been his life force since he entered the NBA as an 18-year-old with the most pressure on his shoulders of any prospect ever. A chance to be on the mountaintop again. So, James will pursue his fifth ring with a new team in a sports-obsessed city. This is a gamble.

This is win or bust.He’s putting it all on the line. James could’ve released the pressure valve by picking Cleveland or Miami, where he has nothing left to prove. He could’ve prioritized fun by choosing Golden State, where an old men-versus-the-league narrative would’ve captivated fans regardless of wins or losses. Instead, Jame...