Biblical references seem to find a home with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Moses Malone arrived in 1982 and immediately led the team to the promised land.
Allen Iverson arrived in 1996 and, five years later, took the Sixers to the NBA Finals. For fans of gospel music, his nickname, “The Answer,” recalled a 1970s hit by Andraé Crouch and the Disciples: “Jesus is the Answer.”
And, now, LeBron, who was nicknamed “King James” while still a princeling high school star in Akron, Ohio. His namesake, England’s James I, commissioned a translation of the Bible in the early 17th century, the one with all the “Thee’s” and “Ye’s” and my personal favorite, “believeth.”
Of course, LeBron isn’t a Sixer. Not yet.
But if, by some miracle, he does agree to a tiny free-agent contract this summer, LeBron surely would make the Sixers a favorite to win their first Larry O’Brien Trophy since Larry O’Brien actually was the NBA commissioner.
This has not been the case largely because the sole benefit of “The Process,” the disastrous, failed rebuilding strategy that began in 2013, is Joel Embiid. He has MVP talent, and he won the award just three years ago, but his rank unprofessionalism — a refusal to commit to fitness, too much energy focused on extracurriculars, an obsession with personal milestones — has kept Embiid and the Sixers from reaching their potential.
And, while King James might not save Embiid’s mortal soul, with his special brand of tough love, LeBron very well could save Embiid’s mortally afflicted career.
Come on, man
Before this goes any further, I don’t believe LeBron is interested in playing basketball for the Philadelphia 76ers. Yes, the Sixers somehow traded Paul George and picks for Jaylen Brown — Celtics president Brad Stevens must’ve lost either a bet or his mind — which instantly turned the Sixers into a viable Eastern Conference contender. Nevertheless, I think it’s likely that LeBron’s representatives are using this (feigned) interest as leverage to land the King elsewhere.
I don’t think he wants to be in Philadelphia, which is a much tougher city than anywhere else he’s played. I don’t think he wants to deal with an organization with an absentee owner and a first-time top executive. I don’t think he wants to be associated or represent one of the most dysfunctional organizations in major league sports over the past 14 years, and with the NFL’s Jets, Raiders, and Browns in that mix, that’s quite an accomplishment. I don’t think he wants to play for the NBA veteran minimum, which is all he’d get at this point.
There is a chance, though, that his desire to be worshipped will override his desire to give himself the best chance to win a fifth title, because nowhere would worship him the way Philadelphia fans would worship him, just as they worship Moses for leading them out of the wilderness.
LeBron already did that in Cleveland and Miami. And, as my colleague David Murphy pointed out on Monday, his agent, Rich Paul, said the Knicks disqualified themselves from the LeBron sweepstakes when they won a championship. Murphy’s logic: He could not end their drought, and therefore could not be seen as their savior, so why bother?
Now that Jalen Brunson did what Patrick Ewing failed to do, LeBron can’t do it. But he damn sure could help Embiid do what Embiid will be paid an average of $62.6 million a year to do over the next three seasons.
The Answer
Winning a title, even with James on board, requires getting the most of whatever’s left out of Embiid, who has bad knees and a bad attitude. Getting the most out of Embiid is something that championship-winning coaches Doc Rivers and Nick Nurse abjectly failed to do, and they had three years apiece.
This is different.
LeBron, who is 41 with the body of a 32-year-old, is entering his 24th season. He has gotten the best out of his teammates everywhere he’s gone, whether it’s fellow Hall of Fame-caliber players like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Kyrie Irving or lesser lights such as Kevin Love and Mo Williams. He has won four championships because of it. You think Austin Reaves — an undrafted tweener guard who averaged 10.8 points in four years of college — would have been offered $185 million by the Lakers for the next four years if LeBron hadn’t been his teammate for the past five years?
Embiid, who is 32 with the body of a 42-year-old, is entering his 11th season since being drafted, though he missed the first two seasons with injuries. On the day the Sixers season ended in a playoff sweep (at the hands of those Knicks) he announced that the 2025-26 season had been a success for him. That’s because his left knee no longer impeded him to the degree it had him impeded him for the past several years.
Embiid then swore that, at the end of this summer, when training camp begins, since his body feels better, he will be better prepared than in recent years to finally get the Sixers … past the second round of the playoffs?
Talk about aiming low.
At any rate, no Sixers since Moses himself is better equipped to make sure Embiid follows through on his latest promises. It worked on “big-boned” Charles Barkley.
Filling a void
Since trading cornerstone All-Stars Andre Iguodala in 2012 and Jrue Holiday in 2013, the closest the thing the Sixers have had to a real leader was Jimmy Butler, whose headstrong attitude and routine insubordination were less an example of leadership than a display of self-aggrandizement. Embiid was in his third year of actually playing NBA basketball during the Season of Jimmy, and he certainly got that message.
Who’s the leader now?
Embiid blew his chance years ago when it became clear that he was less interested in chasing championships than he was in seeking MVP trophies, Olympic gold medals, milkshakes, and Shirley Temples.
Tyrese Maxey is an ebullient, well-spoken workaholic, but he lacks the gravitas to lead a championship-caliber team, especially when the roster includes more accomplished players like Embiid and Brown.
As for Brown — well, he might find it hard to lead a bunch of dummies; last week, he called most pro athletes morons when compared to him after unnamed sources accused him of thinking he was the smartest person in the room: “Let’s keep it a buck [100] … The bar is f— low.”
James might not be a budding chess master like Brown, but he’s smart enough to know how to win a title and how to run a team. After all, the bar is low.
Do you think LeBron is going to let Joel make his teammates wait for 2½ hours to leave for the plane after road games? Do you think LeBron is going to sit around and wait for Embiid to come to meetings and shootarounds? No. The answer is, simply, no. If you’re James’s teammate, you will be professionalized or you will be marginalized.
If LeBron James comes to Philly, you will see a fitter, tougher, more committed Joel Embiid.
James’s habits aren’t contagious, they’re compulsory. It’s a trait he shares with Kobe Bryant. James is kinder than Kobe, and he’s more deferential, but compared to the typical laissez-faire NBA star, he’s neither kind nor deferential.
He is desperate to win, and if you can’t help him do that, then he doesn’t have time for you.
Again, I don’t think it’s a realistic outcome. But King James in Philly would be the best medicine for Embiid’s ailing legacy.
