LeBron James 76ers decision puts Knicks on a complicated path to an NBA Finals repeat
This time, the 76ers opted for a different type of process — and its effectiveness will directly impact the Knicks’ quest to repeat after snapping their 53-year drought. This — the current roster assembled after LeBron James signed in Philadelphia on a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option Friday — is far from the draft-and-develop philosophy that Sam Hinkie once used more than a decade ago.Instead, new president of basketball operations Mike Gansey banked on an approach that requires microwaving chemistry, collecting superstars and hoping, in a small window, that a title follows.
If it works, that has the potential to make the Knicks’ path back to the NBA Finals complicated, too. Because on paper, at least, the 76ers now resemble a significant obstacle.James has established himself as one of the greatest players in NBA history, winning titles with the Cavaliers, Heat and Lakers over a 23-year career.
At 41 years old, and 42 on Dec.30, he called this his “last decision” in a series of X posts Friday.
The 76ers also added former Celtics star Jaylen Brown — capable of being the primary scorer for an offense — in a blockbuster trade earlier this month, and they already had Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and V.J.Edgecombe on their roster, too. Embiid, a former MVP who has been limited to 57 regular-season games the last two years because of injuries, can still be a primary scorer when healthy.
He dropped 40 points against the Pelicans in a Jan.31 game and recorded 30 or more points 14 times across 38 regular-season games in 2025-26.
Maxey blossomed into a star at just 25 years old, and last year, with Embiid in and out of the lineup, averaged 21.4 shots per game.And Edgecombe finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, flashed his potential against the Knicks during his first taste of the postseason in May and is seemingly set to start alongside this collection of established stars. “I’m not going for money,” James wrote on X.
“I...