Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
LAS VEGAS \u2014 LeBron James has been everywhere \u2014 and nowhere \u2014 during the NBA Summer League. <\/p>\n
It has been more than two weeks since the all-time great told the Los Angeles Lakers that he will play somewhere else during the 2026-27 season. Yet as the NBA\u2019s prominent figures converged in Sin City, more speculation than actual insight has percolated about where that next destination will be \u2014 and the 76ers<\/a>\u2019 status as a contender. <\/a><\/p>\n New president of basketball operations Mike Gansey<\/a> acknowledged to The Inquirer Tuesday morning that his team is \u201cwaiting, like the rest of the NBA\u201d for James\u2019 decision. Young standout VJ Edgecombe<\/a> beamed when asked Monday about his team\u2019s pursuit of James<\/a>, but added, \u201cIf we do get him, I\u2019m happy. If we don\u2019t, I\u2019m still happy.\u201d <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Mike Gansey \u2018never would have envisioned\u2019 landing Jaylen Brown in his first Sixers offseason \u2014 and is happy to wait on LeBron James\u2019 decision<\/a><\/p>\n Elsewhere, a conversation among league followers and participants earlier in the week led to pondering if James would make his choice on Wednesday \u2014 aka, the annual dead day in the American sports calendar following the MLB All-Star Game<\/a> (spoiler: he did not). Perhaps James\u2019 scheduled appearances at Fanatics Fest NYC on Thursday and Friday will be the stage for such an announcement. <\/p>\n During this leaguewide wait \u2014 which has mostly put the second wave of free agency on hold \u2014 on-court basketball things still have occurred. <\/p>\n Labaron Philon Jr., the Sixers\u2019 first-round draft pick, has demonstrated why this new-look front office believed it could not pass on him at No. 22. Second-year big man Johni Broome has recovered from knee surgery, and has flashed interior dominance<\/a> in an environment where he should thrive. Quintessential summer league stories have emerged from the Sixers\u2019 team. <\/p>\n Here are some final nuggets from The Inquirer\u2019s stay in Las Vegas: <\/p>\n Philon\u2019s creativity <\/p>\n Philon has been a fearless shot-maker, averaging 19.7 points and sinking 38.9% of his six three-point attempts in his first three summer league games before Wednesday\u2019s 7-of-24 clunker from the floor (1-of-13 from beyond the arc) against the Orlando Magic. <\/p>\n Perhaps even more impressive has been the rookie\u2019s sharp ballhandling and passing, especially with a team that was assembled quickly. His more \u201cfreestyle\u201d or \u201cbackyard-type\u201d moments, he said, draw inspiration from Jason Williams and Kyrie Irving. <\/p>\n \u201cJust being able to make one move and go,\u201d Philon said, \u201cI feel like that will be important for me with better defenders and stronger guys [in the NBA]. Just being able to have that creativity is important. \u2026 I don\u2019t really see a lot of young guards with that kind of creativity.\u201d <\/p>\n Dalen Terry\u2019s daughter steals the spotlight <\/p>\n A massive Sixers contingent sat courtside for Tuesday\u2019s game against the Houston Rockets, including owner Josh Harris<\/a>, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment president Bob Myers, front office executives Gansey, Jameer Nelson, and Prosper Karangwa, and players Edgecombe, Dominick Barlow, and Justin Edwards. <\/p>\n Yet Dalen Terry\u2019s baby daughter may have been the most popular person on the team\u2019s version of celebrity row. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is something I\u2019ve always dreamed of, just having my kids here,\u201d Terry said. \u201cI want her to be able to see a picture of her on my lap asleep during the game. In 10 years, she\u2019ll be like, \u2018I was there?!\u2019 [I\u2019ll be] like, \u2018You were right there on TV and everybody was talking about you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n After signing a two-way contract with the Sixers following the February trade deadline \u2014 which was converted to a standard deal late in the regular season \u2014 the team picked up Terry\u2019s $2.6 million option for the 2026-27 season. The 24-year-old guard said he had \u201cno doubts\u201d the Sixers would re-up with him<\/a>, though his deal is nonguaranteed until Jan. 10. <\/p>\n Terry added that he has spent this offseason drilling his shooting, what he called the \u201cbiggest knock\u201d on his game with career splits of 44.3\/31.4\/63.8 in four NBA seasons. He also found value in experiencing the playoffs for the first time \u2014 even while playing the final minutes of the New York Knicks\u2019 dominant sweep of the Sixers. <\/p>\n \u201cYou see the rotations get shorter,\u201d Terry said. \u201cEverything is just so much more compact. Every mistake matters. \u2026 It was crazy to just see how intense the games were. It was almost like college, the Final Four every game.\u201d <\/p>\n Meet \u2018Big Fish\u2019 <\/p>\n During a timeout in Thursday\u2019s opener against the Detroit Pistons, Isaac Johnson had this message for his new teammates: \u201cWelcome to Vegas. You can make a lot more money than at the tables right now.\u201d <\/p>\n Meet one of Summer League\u2019s more colorful characters. <\/p>\n Johnson, a 7-foot, mustache-sporting center originally from Utah, is nicknamed \u201cBig Fish\u201d because of a middle school inside joke between him and a much-shorter friend that stuck. He became a fan favorite during a winding-yet-successful college career that took him from Oregon, then to Utah State, then to Hawaii. While at Utah State, Johnson had a name, image, and likeness deal with local fast-food chain Arctic Circle, creating a milkshake with the Swedish Fish candy. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: VJ Edgecombe was \u2018shocked\u2019 by the Jaylen Brown trade, and loves the Sixers\u2019 pursuit of LeBron James<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI love people, and I love genuine people,\u201d Johnson said of why he naturally connects with fan bases. \u201cSo I try to be as genuine as I can. I\u2019m one that hopefully gives more than I take.\u201d <\/p>\n In Las Vegas, the undrafted Johnson said he hoped to demonstrate team-first defensive qualities such as helping on screens, protecting the rim, and boxing out. <\/p>\n And to shoot the ball when he is open. <\/p>\n That was on full display in the Sixers\u2019 first win over the Pistons. He scored 20 points in 20 minutes and went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, including a falling four-point play that prompted an enthusiastic scream upon hitting the deck. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m usually a very logical person, so I don\u2019t react in any negative ways,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cBut as long as it\u2019s energy-giving, my emotions are very big. So you can see that in my celebrations.\u201d <\/p>\n Matt Rogers\u2019 road back <\/p>\n Matt Rogers drilled a corner three-pointer late in Saturday\u2019s overtime win over the Indiana Pacers, right in front of new Sixer Jaylen Brown<\/a>. <\/p>\n It was not only a highlight moment for an undrafted player using summer league to \u201ctry to get my name out there\u201d for opportunities in the States and abroad. It was evidence of Rogers\u2019 road back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, which sidelined him for about 16 months. <\/p>\n