He was back \u2014\u00a0and Philadelphia was witness.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing you know about Philly fans, they don\u2019t care about anybody besides their home teams, and I respect (it). I love that,\u201d James said that night after finishing with 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists. \u201cI\u2019ve played here, for obviously 23 years, a lot more when I was in (the) Eastern Conference. But to be able to have an appreciation for the City of Brotherly Love and for me to go out and still play the game that I love and them respect it, whatever the case may be \u2014 if they do \u2014 it\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\n LeBron James had a big game against Tyrese Maxey and the 76ers in December. Now, the two will be teammates in Philadelphia. (Emilee Chinn \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Months later when the season ended, the moment didn\u2019t really register with me. When it became clear that James wouldn\u2019t be back with the Lakers, that game didn\u2019t cross my mind.<\/p>\n
But now that we know where James will play his 24th season, this game feels more special. Over the last two seasons, I\u2019ve been at every Lakers game that James has played \u2014 preseason included. I\u2019ve listened to him talk, mostly in general terms, about what the end of his career could look like. I\u2019ve gotten some kind of sense of what he\u2019d want the end to look like.<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t surprised that the final chapter would occur outside of Los Angeles. The Lakers were the team he played for, but they were no longer his team. That changed the night they traded for Don\u010di\u0107 (and didn\u2019t tell James) and gave themselves a clear direction for the present and future.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia, at least initially, felt like a surprise.<\/p>\n
Like anyone talking to people close to James throughout this free agency, I knew very little. I knew the things that James and his team had previously talked about valuing. I knew which places could best offer it, and I knew that when James picked, I\u2019d be able to pick through the pieces of evidence that revealed themselves in his final months with the Lakers.<\/p>\n
Had the destination been Golden State \u2014 the predicted landing spot by plenty inside the Lakers\u2019 locker room \u2014 the reasoning would\u2019ve been easy to put together. James would be able to stay on the West Coast where he and his family had made their home the past eight years. He\u2019d be able to play with people his age. It\u2019s easy to imagine the amazing dinners and amazing bottles of wine, the conversations beginning with, \u201cRemember when,\u201d while the defining winners of a generation \u2014 James, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr \u2014 put the finishing touches on an era of NBA basketball.<\/p>\n
LeBron headed to Philly, leaving Warriors fans disappointed<\/p>\n
Nick Friedell and Lauren Morales-Jones<\/p>\n
Had it been Miami, the place that seemed to be gaining momentum ahead of James\u2019 decision to sign with Philadelphia, you could easily see the sunshine and the off-day golf rounds in a place where he\u2019d already been a champion. You could also see James reclaiming a piece of his game that the Lakers took from him when they dealt for Don\u010di\u0107 and empowered Reaves. In Miami, with the Heat roster the way it is now, someone would need to make plays for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. And for as much as James bent his game around the Lakers guards, he knew it was a bit of acting. The ball, to James, is most comfortable in his hands.<\/p>\n
LeBron says no to Heat reunion. What’s next for Miami?<\/p>\n
Eric Nehm<\/p>\n
If James had gone to Cleveland, it would be because he was grabbing full control of his story, putting the last chapter of his career in a familiar setting where he could ensure that, no matter the winning or the losing, the people there would celebrate everything he\u2019s achieved in his profession.<\/p>\n
Sources close to James told The Athletic on Friday, on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, that the reason he picked Philadelphia wasn\u2019t a part of some complicated decision matrix. It was, simply, the place James thought he could go and have the best chance to win a championship.<\/p>\n
Looking back at James\u2019 time in Los Angeles, the winning always made things better. The worst times in Los Angeles always came with losing \u2014 the injuries, the trades that didn\u2019t work out (or the ones that didn\u2019t get made).<\/p>\n
James missed three games early in March, the Lakers ripping off wins against Indiana, New York and Minnesota without him. He returned to the court as the Lakers unquestioned third option, the furthest down any offensive food chain he\u2019d ever been. If it felt awkward, six straight wins smoothed everything out.<\/p>\n
The Lakers finished that month 16-1. James was an efficiency monster, averaging 19.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists while making more than 55 percent of his shots from the field. He laughed at the idea that wouldn\u2019t be able to handle the role.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what I\u2019m capable of still doing as an individual, but what\u2019s important for this team, I\u2019m able to adapt,\u201d James said early in March. \u201cAnd that\u2019s the only thing that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the end, it wasn\u2019t the amount of shots or the amount of touches that would matter most for James. It wasn\u2019t about being near the mansion he\u2019s building in Los Angeles or the buddies who play for the Warriors.<\/p>\n
It was about winning and the rush that competing at the highest levels in high-stakes environments could provide. After a very mutual breakup with the Lakers, James went looking for the place where he could feel that the most often, a place where all the physical and mental sacrifice required to still play in this league could be worth it.<\/p>\n
James felt that rush in December in Philadelphia, the crowd on its feet watching him pick apart their 76ers one possession at a time down the stretch<\/a>. James basked in the attention, the moment leading to a greatest hits of his celebrations \u2014 the crowning and the \u201csilencer\u201d merging after his final bucket.<\/p>\n For the first time last season, James felt something special. And as he gets ready to play his 24th NBA season later this year, we probably shouldn\u2019t be surprised that he wants to get back to that place as much as possible.<\/p>\n