LeBron James Takes the Stage at 76ers Media Day Ahead of 24th NBA Season

Wearing a No. 23 Philadelphia jersey after signing a two-year deal, the NBA's all-time points leader told reporters he did not come to the 76ers to bow out in the second round.

CAMDEN, N.J. — LeBron James needed no introduction at Philadelphia 76ers media day, and he made the point himself. Settling into his chair, he let his credential placard fall to the floor and asked the room: "You guys know who I am, right?" The best-known player in basketball and the NBA's all-time points leader was indeed seated in a No. 23 Sixers jersey.

Now 41 and preparing for a 24th NBA campaign, James sounded content with the move — to play for the Sixers and to team up with longtime friend and fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey — while giving no hint of when he might retire. One outcome he ruled out was an early playoff exit. "I didn't leave my family," James said Monday, "to lose in the second round."

James, Maxey, Joel Embiid and fellow newcomer Jaylen Brown were all on hand as the organization gathered before the opening of training camp, at the start of a season carrying more buildup in Philadelphia than any since Julius Erving's prime. Media organizations with no regular NBA assignment flooded the team's New Jersey facility, well beyond the usual beat turnout, and James, an object of global interest since his teens, took it in stride. "Understand that the noise is going to be the noise," James said. "What happens outside of this building is going to consistently happen, and it's going to be doubled and triple and quadrupled down on you. It just comes with the territory. I understand it."

The assignment is one he has carried before. In 2016 his Cavaliers ended a 56-year championship drought for Cleveland; the Sixers have waited since 1983, and Philadelphia brought him in largely to close that gap. "I think the luxury of my game is, I can do everything," James said. "Literally, I can do everything."

Philadelphia finished 45-37 a season ago and was eliminated in a second-round sweep by the New York Knicks, who went on to capture the championship. A summer roster remake followed, headlined by James, who accepted a two-year, $8 million contract paid at the veterans' minimum.

The career record behind that bargain deal includes 22 All-Star selections, 21 All-NBA nods, four MVP awards, four Finals MVPs, three All-Star Game MVPs and a spot on the NBA's 75th anniversary team. He averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists last season, and his career numbers stand at 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists across more than 1,600 games. "Him being here is really cool," Maxey said.

James said his immediate focus is adjusting to a new set of teammates — most of whom, like Embiid, have never won a title — while importing the mindset that produced championships in Cleveland, Miami and Los Angeles. "I hope that I can, you know, bring that experience, bring that knowledge, bring the blueprint to the guys that's trying to accomplish some things that they haven't done in their career," James said. "I've seen everything that this league has to offer on the floor and off the floor, so I hope that every single day with my approach to the game, approach to the work, that it can translate to every single guy."

His route to Philadelphia began in Cleveland, where he arrived in 2003 and played seven seasons. Four years in Miami brought his first two championships, a second Cleveland stint of four more seasons delivered the 2016 title, and a 2018 departure for the Lakers yielded another championship in 2020.

How long the Philadelphia chapter runs is a question James left unanswered. Members of Sixers ownership and the basketball operations staff stood nearby as he declined to forecast his remaining years in the league. "I don't want to speak on the future right now," James said. "I think that would be doing a disservice to myself on just living in the moment, especially knowing that I am where I am in my career."