Veteran forward LeBron James has had a busy 48 hours since announcing his decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 41-year-old star has shared clips of his gym workouts and time on the golf course, a photo of his mother “looking 25 again,” and posts promoting his new sneaker, the LeBron 23 “White Label,” which launched to mark his “Last Decision.”
Along the way, James also reacted to news regarding former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who intends to join him on the Sixers after clearing waivers following a buyout from the Memphis Grizzlies.
James also posted the below picture on his Instagram story.
LeBron James Starts New Chapter
KCP will join a deep Sixers bench that includes Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, Dominick Barlow and Adem Bona, who will be backing up the star-studded starting unit of James, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and V.J. Edgecombe. Bettors have already given the new-look Sixers the third-shortest odds to win the NBA title.
While James is evidently excited about joining fellow All-Stars Embiid, Maxey and Brown on the Sixers, some naysayers have pumped the brakes and are wondering if the NBA’s Super Team is destined to be a bust.
On his podcast, Simmons compared the Sixers’ star-studded roster to the 2012 Los Angeles Lakers, who stacked the deck with four Hall of Famers — Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol — but did not win anything substantial.
“This was the most fun basketball option, the more we talk about it,” Simmons said of James linking up with the Sixers. “I just think this has the most variables every which way, including like there’s 2012 Lakers potential too, where this looks awesome on paper, and there are all these reasons for it.
“But you have LeBron, who’s 41,” Simmons continued. “Who with a ton of miles on him, God only knows when he’s going to break down someday, and Embiid, who never plays, and Jaylen Brown on a new team, trying to fit his way. There’s an unhappy version of this, too. And I don’t know which one I would bet on, to be honest.”
Will LeBron James win with Sixers?
Others like Danny Green and Charles Barkley have also tried to undermine James’ move to the Sixers. Green, who won one of his three NBA titles with James in 2020, believes that his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate won’t elevate to GOAT status by winning a chip in Philadelphia, given the stacked roster he’s joining.
“LeBron getting a championship as the 3rd or 4th option, that does not gonna be like, ‘Oh, you’re the GOAT now,’” Green said on his podcast, via Kalshi Hoops.
“Like Maxey and Brown are the best players on that team, then it’s Embiid, then it’s LeBron. You are now the 4th option,” added Green.
Barkley criticized James for “stacking” a third for the third time in his career.
“Yo, man, you’re always stacking your team,” Barkley told James during his appearance on the “Stephen A. Smith Show.”
“He stacked it in Miami. He stacked it in Cleveland. He’s stacked it in L.A. Now he’s stacking it in Philly,” added Barkley. “So, to me, I’m still going to have the same criticism I’ve always had. He’s always stacked his team.”
Barkley, though, would be willing to call James the GOAT if he can win back-to-back titles in Philly. Clearly, James has put a lot of undue pressure on himself at age 42.
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