After more than three weeks, LeBron James finally made his free agency decision on Friday. To the surprise of many, James, 41, will sign a two-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
James will join the 76ers after an eight-year run with the Los Angeles Lakers. The move comes on the heels of Philadelphia acquiring Jaylen Brown in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Celtics. James and Brown will join Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe in a loaded starting lineup, but is that group enough to vault the Sixers to the top of the Eastern Conference ahead of the defending champion New York Knicks?
Of the options on the table, including possibly returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers or Miami Heat, James viewed the situation in Philadelphia as his best chance to win a fifth NBA title.
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“I still truly love this game, and I have more to give,” James wrote on social media. “This is my last decision. I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point? 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 and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time.”
James’ decision to sign with the Sixers has made them a true title contender and shifted the league’s power balance further toward the East. As the dust settles, let’s take a quick look at how things now stand in the East with some post-decision power rankings.
1. New York Knicks
The Knicks just completed a historic playoff run with their first championship since 1973 last month, and they brought back everyone other than Mitchell Robinson. The 7-footer is a real loss, but not a big enough one to knock them off the top spot, especially with Andre Drummond taking his place.
Their starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns had an absurd plus-12.5 net rating during the playoffs, and that was with Brunson playing through a wrist injury that required surgery earlier this month. No team has repeated since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, so it’s fair to be wary of the Knicks’ ability to win the 2027 title, but they’re still the team to beat in the East.
2. Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers looked overmatched against the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs last season, but since then they’ve added James and Brown, along with Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons and first-round pick Labaron Philon Jr to round out their depth.
Are there questions about how everything is going to fit together in Philly this season? Yes. Are there questions about Embiid’s health? Of course. But there are no questions about this group’s talent. By that metric alone, they have to check in at No. 2. I mean, Edgecombe is their worst starter. That’s crazy.
3. Boston Celtics
The Celtics had another fascinating offseason. After offering Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks in a failed attempt to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo, they sent Brown to the Sixers for Paul George and some draft picks — a deal that still has many in Boston up in arms.
But as strange as it will be to see the Celtics without Brown, who has been a fixture in Boston for the last decade, this is still one of the best teams in the East. Jayson Tatum is fully healthy, they signed Robinson from the Knicks in free agency to shore up their frontcourt, and the majority of the supporting cast that helped them win 56 games is back.
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4. Cleveland Cavaliers
For the past few weeks, it seemed like the Cavaliers had a real chance to sign James, which would have been a storybook ending to his career. His decision to sign with the Sixers is a real blow to the Cavaliers’ title chances, especially now that they’ll have to deal with him in the East.
But even without James, the Cavs have more than enough to be one of the top teams in the conference. They went 21-5 down the stretch last season after acquiring James Harden, who is expected to re-sign now that the James saga has ended. Can they actually win it all? Probably not, but they have an excellent core with proven regular-season success.
5. Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are in a state of flux as they await confirmation of the revealed Kawhi Leonard trade, which has been held up because the Aspiration investigation is not complete. There doesn’t seem to be any real concern that the deal will be voided, however, which means it’s likely a matter of when, not if, Leonard returns to Toronto.
There will always be injury concerns with Leonard, but he’s still a top-10 player when healthy and gives the Raptors a true go-to scorer on offense who will only bolster their elite defense. Their wing rotation with Leonard, Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett is terrific.
Why didn’t _____ make the top five?
You may have noticed a number of very good teams, including last season’s No. 1 seed, did not make the cut. That shows how much better the Eastern Conference will be next season. Let’s take a quick swing through some of the contenders for a top-five spot, and the big question for each that left them off the list.
- Pistons: What’s going on with Jalen Duren?
- Pacers: What is Tyrese Haliburton going to look like post-Achilles tear?
- Heat: Who do you trust besides Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo?
- Magic: Where is the offense going to come from?
- Hawks: What happens if CJ McCollum can’t sustain last season’s form?
