This, for a 41-year-old coming off the worst of his 23 seasons?<\/p>\n
Yes. Yes. A thousand times, yes. But why?<\/p>\n
Because Philadelphians won. They won the LeBron Sweepstakes.<\/p>\n
The King chose Philly.<\/p>\n
The King chose us.<\/p>\n
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James chose a franchise that hasn\u2019t won an NBA title in 43 years, has only one title in almost 60 years, and hasn\u2019t advanced past the second round of the playoffs in 25 years. He chose a city with three total championships since James was born in 1984; James himself has won four. He chose a city with a national reputation for abrasiveness, confrontation, and, above all, losing \u2014 a reputation resented by the residents of Philadelphia and its region.<\/p>\n
Still: He chose us. He might occasionally commute to Philly from Manhattan, but he\u2019s paying his taxes here.<\/p>\n
If Joel Embiid<\/a> and Tyrese Maxey<\/a> and Jaylen Brown<\/a> and VJ Edgecombe<\/a> again fall short in the playoffs, LeBron still chose us. He could have joined Steph Curry in San Francisco, Giannis Antetokounmpo in Miami, James Harden<\/a> in Cleveland. <\/p>\n But no. We won. And we acted like it.<\/p>\n Phil Martelli, revered basketball coach and lifelong Philadelphian, knows why. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had this in my head forever. People think we\u2019re bad losers. That\u2019s not what we are,\u201d Martelli said. \u201cWe are insufferable winners.\u201d<\/p>\n Validation<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Philadelphian for 31 of my 57 years. Martelli\u2019s been a Philly guy for all 71 of his. I told him that, in my three decades, I\u2019ve observed that Philly has an inferiority complex, a chip on its shoulder, and a healthy sense of pride.<\/p>\n \u201cNo doubt,\u201d Martelli agreed. \u201cNo doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n So, when good things happen, a dam always breaks. From climbing greased streetlights to eating horse manure<\/a> (this really happened), Philly fans have earned a reputation of, well, overexpression when the rare championship finally lands at their feet.<\/p>\n It is that rarity, that desperation for validation, that generates euphoria when a big name decides that Philly is good enough for him.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the key: The decision must belong to the player.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why Reggie White and Eric Lindros don\u2019t qualify, since they were drafted. Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Roy Halladay, all trades or purchases.<\/p>\n Bryce Harper<\/a>, however, already had won an MVP by the spring of 2019. The Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, and White Sox courted him. So did the Padres, until they signed Manny Machado, who, folks might not remember, was the Phillies\u2019 first choice. But the fans always preferred Harp, and, ultimately, Harp preferred them. And he was only 26.<\/p>\n Similarly, by the 1978 offseason, Pete Rose had been a National League MVP, but he also was the MVP of one of his two World Series<\/a> titles with Cincinnati. He was a stone-cold winner, and, even though he would be 37 in 1978, he was still the top free agent. The Phillies\u2019 four-year, $3.24 million offer was the worst he received \u2014 others included more money, a lifetime $100,000 annual pension, oil and beer investments, and racehorse ownership \u2014 but Rose saw a winner in Philly, and Philly utterly rejoiced.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: The Phillies do \u2018need some help\u2019 by trades. But they also need some from Bryce Harper and his teammates.<\/a><\/p>\n Compared with Harper and Rose, there was less excitement (and less competition) when Saquon Barkley<\/a> signed with the Eagles in 2024. The Bengals, Texans, Ravens, and Bears contended but the Eagles won, and Barkley, a Lehigh Valley native, came home, to much rejoicing. That season Barkley produced record-setting numbers and pushed the Eagles to a Super Bowl<\/a> win, so it\u2019s tempting to recast his choice as being a bigger deal than it was. He\u2019s still never going to have to buy his own beer in Philly.<\/p>\n Saquon was the centerpiece of a run to the Eagles\u2019 second Lombardi Trophy. Rose pushed the 1980 Phillies to the first World Series win in franchise history. Harper won a second MVP, in 2021, and led the Phillies to the 2022 pennant. <\/p>\n They delivered on their promise.<\/p>\n This seldom is the case.<\/p>\n Unfulfilled promise?<\/p>\n Age, injury, and Ryan Howard made Jim Thome redundant in the mid-2000s. Cliff Lee rejected the Yankees and took less to return to the Phillies in 2011, but to no good end. Jake Arrieta was a big-time bust, Lance Parrish was a late-80\u2019s disappointment, Al Horford was a bad fit with Embiid, and Nnamdi Asomugha was cooked by the time he became a \u201cDream Team\u201d Eagle in 2011.<\/p>\n LeBron never will be classified among Philly\u2019s worst signings, if only because his two-year, $8 million contract earns him 33% less than Anfernee Simons (for casuals, Simons is the new backup shooting guard). LeBron would be a magnificent value at $4 million a year if he was an assistant coach.<\/p>\n