LeBron James is headed to Philadelphia, and he's calling this one the last ride.
The 41-year-old announced on July 24 via a series of posts on X that he was signing with the Philadelphia 76ers, a decision he described as his "last" in free agency. The NBA officially processed the transaction Sunday, July 27.
The deal is a two-year, $8 million contract with a player option on year two, confirmed by Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul to ESPN's Shams Charania. Year-one pay comes to $3,876,529, rising to $4,070,355 in year two, with a 15% trade kicker included.
"I thought I was done when the season ended...I was pretty sure I played my last game," James wrote. "I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship. I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team."
James celebrated on Instagram with a career highlight reel set to Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill's "Dreams and Nightmares," the clip cutting to the 76ers logo on the lyric "hold up, wait a minute. Y'all thought I was finished?"
He joins a roster built around Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and newly acquired Jaylen Brown — a core that actively recruited him. The effort was led by Maxey, a fellow Klutch client who called James a "big brother." Brown posted "#throwtheballup" on X after the news broke, a phrase already branded on billboards across the city. Brown had been pulled from the Boston Celtics in a blockbuster trade on July 1, a move that according to ESPN first caught James' serious attention.
Behind the scenes, 76ers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey maintained constant contact with Rich Paul throughout free agency. Bob Myers, president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, appeared on Paul's Game Over podcast to make his case directly: "I honestly believe this is your best chance to win...if it's about winning, let's talk about this team."
James also fielded a secret pitch from Cleveland. Cavaliers executives Koby Altman, Brandon Weems, and Grant Gilbert, along with the Gilbert family, met with James in Akron in early July. The meeting only came to light when Charania named the parties directly on the Game Over podcast. "How did you know about that? Nobody knew about that," Paul said. "I thought it got by Shams because he never said anything to me about that." Rich Paul's whiteboard on the podcast listed the Cavaliers, Heat, Warriors, Knicks, Mavericks, Nuggets, Spurs, and Timberwolves among other suitors James ultimately passed on.
Managing partner Josh Harris issued a statement welcoming James as "one of the greatest players in NBA history" and expressed confidence in the group's ability to deliver Philadelphia's first title since 1983, which would end a 43-year drought. James will wear No. 23. The 76ers waived guard Dalen Terry, who held a non-guaranteed salary, to create roster space.
A fifth ring would make James the first player in NBA history to win championships with four different franchises. He enters this chapter off a 2025-26 season in which he averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.1 rebounds across 60 games, then posted 23.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 6.7 rebounds per game in 10 playoff contests. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer with 43,440 regular-season points and has carried a team to the Finals in 10 seasons.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro proclaimed July 24 LeBron James Day in the state. DraftKings moved Philadelphia's Finals odds from 20-1 to +900, and their Eastern Conference odds from +750 to +370, following the announcement.
James turns 42 on December 30, and there will be no traditional introductory press conference, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst: "After 'not 5, not 6, not 7' LeBron is done with introductory press conferences." The 76ers open their 2026-27 campaign with a roster that, for the first time, puts James alongside an NBA Finals MVP in Brown and a former Olympic gold-medal partner in Embiid, the two having won together in Paris in 2024.
