Decision 4.0 is finally complete, with LeBron James taking his talents to the Philadelphia 76ers for his 24th (and possibly 25th) NBA seasons. NBA free agency, which had been on unofficial hold until James made his new team known, can finally get back underway.
Based on their current roster, the 76ers are looking at a potential starting five of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, James and Joel Embiid. On paper, that is a powerhouse lineup, but the 76ers' end game is to win their first NBA championship since 1983... the year before James was born. That means there will be a premium placed on trying to have the team healthy for the playoffs. Which in turn means that, during the regular-season 82-game marathon, the 76ers are very likely to lean more heavily on their younger, healthier stars than on their pair of former MVPs.
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Since winning his last championship in 2020, James has played in 74% of the available regular-season games, or about 61 games per year. Since winning his MVP in 2023, Embiid has played in 39% of the available regular-season games; 32 games per year. If those rates held true we might expect to see James and Embiid on the court together for fewer than 25 regular-season games this season. Which would make it reasonable to project this 76ers squad three ways: with James and Embiid, with James but without Embiid, and without James.
The Sixers with James and Embiid
When all five starters are healthy, the 76ers would have five strong scorers on the floor. Edgecombe is coming off an excellent rookie season in which he showed definite 20-plus PPG potential, and all four other starters have averaged more than 28 PPG at least once in the past four seasons. But there's only one ball, so obviously everyone can't score at that level at the same time. The most obvious player to step back his scoring and play more of a facilitating role is James, who just showed the ability and willingness to do so for the Lakers last season next to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. James is also the best natural playmaker on the 76ers, so him taking on a role with fewer shots and more distributing would result in assists for James as well as higher field goal percentages for the rest of the starters.