LeBron James 76ers jerseys have arrived at Dick’s Sporting Goods across the Philadelphia area, and, despite some reports, officials at the store contend that they’re flying off the shelves — legally.
On Tuesday, Crossing Broad reported that James jerseys were being kept behind the counter at the Dick’s Sporting Goods location in Cherry Hill “because the store was having trouble with people stealing them.”
A store manager who chose to remain anonymous at the Dick’s location in Cherry Hill said the jerseys — there were only a few left — were placed behind the counter to boost sales, not because the store was experiencing thefts.
A representative from Dick’s corporate offices located in Coraopolis, Pa., confirmed that no jerseys were reported stolen, but that they were kept behind the checkout initially and are in the process of being moved to the floor.
Multiple locations of Dick’s Sporting Goods across the region noted that they have had no series issues of theft surrounding the arrival of LeBron James’ jersey now in stores. David Paul Morris
At the Dick’s location in the King of Prussia Mall, another store manager, who also chose to remain anonymous, said the James jerseys at their location are being kept on the floor and not behind the counter.
Online, Dick’s has shirts available, but only one jersey in stock, the Nike Adult 2024-25 City Edition Philadelphia 76ers LeBron James Swingman Jersey in medium, on preorder for $125.
Other outfitters like Fanatics, the NBA Store, and the Sixers Shop have James’ jersey available to be reserved in royal blue in select sizes. They’ll be shipped in September.
There are also some jerseys available by reservation in red. Both jerseys are selling for $79.99.
Philadelphia has had no shortage of major golf tournaments this summer. Aronimink hosted the PGA Championship, Saucon Valley hosted the U.S. Junior Amateur, and Merion is hosting the U.S. Amateur this week. And now, new 76er LeBron James wants in on the fun.
The four-time NBA champion is taking his growing passion for golf to YouTube and launched a channel dedicated to his “life on and around the course.”
James’ first video, which dropped Saturday morning, featured him reuniting with his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammates from the 2016 NBA championship team for a round of golf at Cabot Highlands’ Castle Stuart links in Scotland to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of winning the title.
You all loved the 2016 reunion trip so much I thought I'd give ya'll a little more. 🫡🤣 Welcome to my YouTube channel! My life on and around the course. Let’s go!!! 👑⛳️🏌🏾https://t.co/JKA9egPBEi
“You all loved the 2016 reunion trip so much I thought I’d give [y’all] a little more,” James wrote on X. “Welcome to my [YouTube] channel! My life on and around the course. Let’s go!!!”
In the 90-minute video, James, alongside Richard Jefferson and Kevin Love, takes on J.R. Smith, Channing Frye, and Tristan Thompson in a three-on-three scramble. The video highlights trash talking, stories about their time as teammates, and lots of wine.
“Be sure to subscribe to LeBron’s YouTube golf channel for new episodes coming soon,” the description of his first video says. “Follow along as LeBron brings his friends and fans along for the journey as golf takes him to some of the world’s greatest courses. Come for the game, stay for the great local food, wine, and a whole lot of laughs along the way.”
James’ passion for the sport has grown ever since his commentary on his October episode of his podcast, Mind The Game, cohosted with Steve Nash.
“The [golf] bug is real. I’ve heard about the bug for so many years and I was like, ‘Well, it’s not going to get me. I don’t like golf at all. Who wants to be outside all day walking around?’” James said. “Nah, it’s real. I am into it. My algorithm on social media, every other post, every other video, is some type of golf video now.”
James said that he hopes to use his status to make golf more accessible for new audiences during an interview with Rich Kleiman at CNBC x Boardroom Game Plan on July 16 at Fanatics Fest.
“One of my main goals … is to open doors for kids that look like me growing up in the inner city, to be able to go to country clubs at 7, 8, 9 years old and be able to go out and caddie or be able to go out and rent clubs and be able to be coached and play the game of golf,” James said.
James’ YouTube channel already has nearly 240,000 followers and new episodes will drop every month on Saturdays.
If Philly wants Dawn Staley to be part of its WNBA expansion team, she’s made it clear what she’s looking for.
“I don’t want to just coach. I want to own … and I do know my worth,” the North Philly native said ahead of Saturday’s Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction. “I do know if I go to a franchise it’s going to be better because of it, not just my basketball expertise, but … business acumen.”
Staley is part of the 1996 U.S. women’s national team being enshrined in Springfield, Mass. Staley herself was inducted as a player as part of the Class of 2013.
No one from the WNBA has approached Staley about a potential role with Philly come 2030, she said. She made it clear that her speaking on the topic was not her way of asking the team’s ownership, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, to reach out, but it’s not off the table.
She already has some ideas for the path Philly needs to take to have early success once the team comes to fruition. That includes studying the Golden State Valkyries’ model and getting a president, general manager, and a coach who can appeal to fans and is close to Philly. But Staley reiterated that her words weren’t a pitch for herself.
Even if she doesn’t end up back in Philly, Staley’s still a Philly coach through and through, with roots that run deep and carry all the way to South Carolina. In her 26-year coaching career, 18 of which have been with the Gamecocks after an eight-year stint at Temple, the three-time NCAA champion coach said she still applies the lessons she learned growing up in North Philly to her college coaching philosophies.
“When you grow up in North Philly, you really think you can accomplish anything. Like, you’re unafraid, you’re fearless, you just have to figure out how you do it the cleanest way,” Staley said. “I keep those lessons with me because it really has gotten me to this point in my life.”
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley carries her North Philly roots with her.Nell Redmond
Staley isn’t the only inductee in of the Class of 2026 with Philly ties. Longtime NBA coach Doc Rivers also is being honored for his coaching career, which included a stint with the 76ers from 2020 to 2023.
Rivers led the Sixers to an 174-97 record including playoffs, for a .642 win percentage. His team made three straight playoff appearances but failed to advance past the Eastern Conference semifinals each time.
But Rivers looks back on his time in the city fondly, even though he acknowledges that some Sixers fans might not.
“I really believe my difficulty there was … I wanted different people around. But I wasn’t the president of the team,” Rivers said. “I thought our relationship was very difficult, Daryl [Morey] and I, and that made it rough for me. And I knew that. But also … I knew what worked. And I didn’t give up on that, and that probably, eventually, is the reason I wasn’t there in the end. And I’m fine with that now.”
Rivers was fascinated by the immediate changes made by new president of basketball operations Mike Gansey and HBSE president Bob Myers. That included the Jaylen Brown trade, which Rivers called “amazing,” and the LeBron James signing. But what Rivers said was more impressive was the other signings to create a team around these stars, like Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
“I think every GM in the league can go out and get the stars. But can you build around them? And in my opinion, that’s what Myers and Gansey have done,” Rivers said. “They’re going to get the ink for LeBron and for Jaylen Brown. To me, every coach in the NBA is looking to do that, but they should get credit for all these other guys that they’re signing, and they’re doing a hell of a job there.”
Rivers, a 13-year NBA point guard who coached the Boston Celtics from 2004 to 2013 and led them to two NBA Finals appearances, including a championship in 2008, said he was as surprised as everyone was when Brown was traded. Rivers jokingly said that the first thing he thought was when former Celtics player, coach, and broadcaster Tommy Heinsohn told him, “Don’t ever lose to the Sixers.”
With everything they’ve done this offseason, Rivers said the Sixers “have the right parts,” with players like James. The bulk of Rivers’ praise, however, was for Tyrese Maxey, who the former Sixers coach said is “as good of a player [he’s] coached in 26 years.
“I’ve always said, there’s certain people … through your life, they bring sunshine when they walk in their building, and then there’s certain people to bring in the cloud,” Rivers said. “Maxey, he walks in a locker room, and the sun comes out. And that is invaluable to have when it’s a long NBA season.”
Doc Rivers (left) says Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey “is as good a player as [he’s] coached” in 26 years.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Along with Rivers and Staley, Philadelphia native Joey Crawford was being enshrined for his 39-season career as an NBA referee. He worked 2,561 regular-season games, the second-most ever, and also officiated a record 374 playoff games, including 50 NBA Finals games.
WNBA champion, two-time MVP, and Olympic gold medalist Elena Delle Donne, a Wilmington native, also is being inducted. Delle Donne was a seven-time WNBA All-Star and was Rookie of the Year in 2013 after being drafted second overall by the Chicago Sky. During her collegiate career at Delaware, Delle Donne set nearly every women’s basketball school record.
Rounding out the Class of 2026 were longtime Gonzaga coach Mark Few, six-time NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire, six-time WNBA All-Star Chamique Holdsclaw, three-time WNBA champion, seven-time All-Star and two-time league MVP Candace Parker, and Italian American former player and coach Mike D’Antoni.
As of 2:15 p.m. Friday, a post from the Eagles’ official Twitter/X account showing a slow-motion replay of Quinyon Mitchell intercepting a Jalen Hurts pass during practice Wednesday had accumulated nearly 17 million views on the site. There are no typographical errors in that sentence. An interception at practice garnered 17 million views without Christopher Nolan or Abraham Zapruder having filmed the sequence.
X users reposted the clip more than 3,000 times. Many of them included comments suggesting, or saying outright, that the interception was indicative of the quality of Hurts’ play or that the Eagles were disloyal or disrespectful to Hurts for posting the clip at all.
Former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho, now a professional podcaster and poo-stirrer, wrote that “given my experience with the lengths people go to protect Jalen, somebody getting cussed out for sure and then may get fired.” ESPN’s Mike Golic Jr. quipped: “guys, people can see this.” Ben DiNucci, whose NFL career comprised three games with the Cowboys in 2020, wrote: “Why would they post this lol These social teams have a direct impact on what fans think / believe / see.”
A lot can be said about these people and those who responded similarly to the interception post. None of what can be said is kind. DiNucci at least tiptoed toward a reasonable and accurate point: That many fans, especially those so hungry for information and insights about their favorite teams that they spend hours scrolling through social media in the middle of the day, would blow such a play out of proportion. That’s fine. They’re fans. No one should expect them to be measured and reasonable.
But if you’re going to hold yourself up as an expert and try to earn a living from that purported expertise — and that’s what these media members and influencers and former players are doing — then you ought to have enough knowledge and integrity to treat an interception in practice with the gravity it deserves. Which is to say, next to none. If training camp mattered that much, Paul Turner would be closing in on his 11th consecutive season with at least 1,500 receiving yards, and Sam Bradford would have been a Super Bowl MVP before Hurts or Nick Foles.
Hurts has his strengths as a quarterback, and he has his shortcomings, and, yes, this will be an interesting and important season that could chart the course of his future with the Eagles. But no matter how sensitive Hurts and his camp might be, he has handled situations that were far more pressure-packed than a post intended to praise one of his teammates. And the notion that throwing a pick during training camp should serve as any kind of referendum on any NFL starting quarterback is so stupid that it could gain traction only on X.
It was practice, people. Cue the Allen Iverson rant, and go freak out over another not-so-big deal.
So the NFL has scheduled one game on the night before Thanksgiving, three on Thanksgiving itself, one on Black Friday, one on Christmas Eve (between the Eagles and Texans at 8:15 p.m.), and three on Christmas. Meanwhile, the NBA has nine games on Thanksgiving Eve, 11 on Black Friday, and five on Christmas.
Sorry, count me out, or as out as I can be as someone who covers the Eagles and 76ers. These leagues are attempting to capitalize on the captive audience they believe they’ll have on these holidays, but having those days and the traditions within them consumed by a bunch of games is crass and greedy. The only benefit to this overstuffed sports schedule is that it might keep family members and friends from arguing about politics over the apps and turkey.
Quick hitters
For the Sixers’ sake, it’s good to see so many LeBron James murals popping up around the city. They should serve as a nice counterbalance to the one at 30th St. and Eighth Avenue, around the corner from Madison Square Garden, that depicts Mitchell Robinson — a key member of the New York Knicks’ 2025-26 championship team — dunking over Joel Embiid. …
Based on their offensive output in their 7-1 win over the Twins on Thursday night in Iowa, the Phillies should play all their remaining home games this season at Shady Brook Farm. …
Oh, and for the record, Field of Dreams is among the most overrated sports movies ever. Joe Jackson hit left-handed, not right-handed as the film depicts him. Kevin Costner’s Ray Kinsella was an unsympathetic jerk to his father. And James Earl Jones’s “People will come, Ray” speech is overwrought. Costner’s “Dad, wanna have a catch?” scene is touching, but it does a lot of heavy lifting in making the film watchable. Give me The Natural, Eight Men Out, and Bull Durham every time.
Normally, this time of the summer is a slow period for sports, but you wouldn’t know that if you’ve been spending time around Philly. Not only are the Eagles in camp and the Phillies and Union about to hit their seasons’ stretch runs, but there’s also the U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club, Tyrese Maxey and his friends showing out for charity, the Rumph Classic, and much more to come.
But before we look toward events still ahead — like UFC 330, the Philly Cycling Classic, and the Ennoble Care Philly Open — let’s take a look back. Each Friday, Inquirer photo editors pick the best sports images from the last seven days. Here’s what we saw this week …
Justin Matthews, of Canada, hits out of a bunker on the first hole during the Round of 64 at the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club on Wednesday.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerGolf fans watch players tee off near the 17th hole during the U.S. Amateur at Merion.Jose F. Moreno / Staff PhotographerCharlie Barrickman, 18, of West Chester, tees off on the sixth hole on Monday.Jose F. Moreno / Staff PhotographerGolf fans watch players tee off during the second day of the U.S. Amateur at Merion. Jose F. Moreno / Staff PhotographerEagles quarterback Jalen Hurts warms up before a training camp practice on Tuesdsay at the Jefferson Health Training Complex.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerTeam TBB’s Collin Gillespie, a former standout at Villanova, drives to the basket during the Rumph Classic men’s final at Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center on Monday.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerMembers of Team TBB hold the 2026 Danny Rumph Championship trophy after winning the Rumph Classic on Monday.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerThe Union’s Bruno Damiani (left) heads the ball against Necaxa’s Alexis Peña during the second half of the teams’ Leagues Cup group stage game at Subaru Park on Sunday.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerDanley Jean Jacques (right front) runs with the soccer ball past Necaxa defenders.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerFormer Phillies Shane Victorino (center) and Bobby Wine (seated) talk during the team’s Alumni Weekend festivities at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerPhillies center fielder Derek Hill celebrates after hitting a walk-off RBI single during the 12th inning of Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Phillies won, 7-6.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerLuis Arraez avoids the tag by Toronto Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela to score on a sixth-inning sacrifice fly on Saturday.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerKyle Schwarber (left) tags out Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jesús Sánchez. Schwarber, typically the designated hitter, has been getting some reps at first base following Bryce Harper’s move back to right field.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerDerek Hill, with his arms raised, celebrates with teammates after his walk-off hit on Sunday.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerSixers guard Tyrese Maxey (right) held his Friends & Family Weekend that included a skills camp at William Penn Charter School on Saturday.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerTyrese Maxey plays defense as he works with young kids at his 1% Skills Camp, a part of his foundation’s Friends & Family Weekend.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerPedestrians walk past a new LeBron James mural by artist Chenlin Cai at 10th and Arch Streets in Chinatown.Jose F. Moreno / Staff PhotographerFormer Phillies second baseman Chase Utley thanks fans while getting inducted into the team’s Wall of Fame on Friday.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerA rainbow sits over Citizens Bank Park before Chase Utley’s Wall of Fame induction ceremony.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The problem with most conspiracy theories is they assume a level of intelligence, cooperation, discretion, and selflessness that is completely at odds with the track record of large groups of humans. There may only be five people on planet Earth who possess the requisite skill set, let alone five who share a motivation to plot some nefarious deed.
That being said …
If you are the kind of person who tends to believe in dark, mysterious forces working in concert, you might want to give a little thought to the shifts in the NBA’s competitive environment over the last couple of years.
The Luka Doncic and Jaylen Brown trades have plenty in common. Both were traded from teams less than two years removed from an NBA Finals appearance. Both for a pittance, and both to conference rivals. Of far greater significance is their dual place among the prime movers of a league that could be in the beginning stages of a renaissance.
The Lakers’ acquisition of Doncic two years ago not only positioned a marquee franchise for a seamless transition into life after LeBron James, it effectively, if improbably, positioned the Mavericks to land the No. 1 overall draft pick that they used to select a generational talent in Cooper Flagg. Meanwhile, the Sixers’ acquisition of Brown was effectively coupled with the acquisition of James, whose minimum contract free-agent deal with the Sixers completed the organization’s wild and near-instant transformation from borderline irrelevance to legitimate title contender.
New Sixer Jaylen Brown arrives for his introductory press conference at the Francis Myers Recreation Center on Aug. 6.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Doncic and Brown are just two of the deals that have dramatically flattened the NBA’s competitive landscape heading into the 2026-27 season. From perennial MVP finalist Giannis Antetokounmpo’s trade to the Heat to the Raptors acquisition of Kawhi Leonard to Flagg and Victor Wembanyama’s presence in the West, the league is suddenly chock full of potential counterweights to its behemoths in New York, Oklahoma City, and Boston. The league’s release of its schedule on Thursday crystalized this. It also crystalized the challenge that will confront the Sixers as they embark on a season unlike any they’ve experienced prior. In fact, one need only look at the first 10 days of the season.
Five of the Sixers’ first six games will come against the Knicks (twice), Cavs, Pistons and Pacers. That group includes the last two teams to advance to the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference, plus two teams who have won 60+ games in one of the last two regular seasons.
The schedule is full of these sorts of stretches. A month into the season, the Sixers will have played just four games against teams that didn’t win a first-round playoff series in either of the last two seasons. Mid-January brings Anthony Edwards’ Timberwolves to Philadelphia before a home/road back-to-back against the Hawks and Pacers, followed by a trip to Boston two days later. Really, you can pick any two or three-week stretch and find a preponderance of must-see matchups. On paper, at least.
This is a good thing. For the NBA. For its fans. For commissioner Adam Silver, who has grown increasingly proactive in both word and deed regarding the on-court product during the regular season. It’s not premature to say that we are already seeing the impact of the NBA’s second apron penalties and its soon-to-be-instituted lottery reforms. Both played a role in the Sixers’ acquisition of Brown, whom they acquired for a package of draft picks that included a 2028 Clippers first-rounder that gained immense value from the new draft odds.
This is also a good thing for the Sixers. Not just from an entertainment standpoint. After a six-year stretch where every NBA Finals featured either the Heat against the Spurs or the Warriors against the Cavs, eight different teams have appeared in the last four Finals. The Celtics are the only team to appear in more than one NBA Finals since 2022. When the league released its schedule on Thursday afternoon, half its teams had a Vegas win total over/under of at least 44.5. A healthy percentage of those teams will enter the season with a valid argument as a title contender. The Sixers are one of those teams.
Whether they reach those heights will depend on plenty of factors even beyond their obvious health and age-related concerns. Basketball is a sport where rhythm, synergy and on-court chemistry play a huge role in differentiating talented teams from each other. The gauntlet of Eastern Conference rivals the Sixers will face in their first week-and-a-half only underscores the time crunch they’ll face once all of the new faces are on the court together in training camp.
One way or another, it will be fascinating to watch.
The march toward the 2026-27 season has been unlike any other in 76ers history. In one offseason, the organization hired Mike Gansey as president of basketball operations, traded for Jaylen Brown, and signed LeBron James.
That series of events has created quite a bit of excitement in Philly. Ticket prices were jacked up at Xfinity Mobile Arena. James murals went up all over town. And fans were riled up after a slimmed-down Joel Embiid arrived to informal workouts in midseason shape.
That predated Thursday’s release of the Sixers’ full-season schedule. We’d been given a look at marquee games, including opening week and Christmas Day. Now with the full schedule in front of us, here are 10 games to watch from one of the more-anticipated Sixers seasons in recent memory:
The NBA has leaned into this rivalry in recent years for several reasons. The ‘Nova Knicks have numerous Philly connections, and these franchises had failed to reach the mountaintop for decades. That finally changed for the Knicks in June after knocking off the Sixers in the Eastern Conference semifinals as part of their NBA championship run. Now the Sixers have formed a “Big Five″ and could turn the tide. A matchup on ring night and another on Oct. 30 could deliver an early postseason matchup.
Home opener against Cleveland (Oct. 22, ESPN)
Folks in Philly will get their first regular-season glimpse of the new-look Sixers as James faces one of his former teams. This meeting will have a little extra sauce after James considered the Cavaliers in free agency and did not pick home in his “final decision.” The Cavaliers have the continuity advantage after they doubled down on their roster with Donovan Mitchell signing a big extension and former Sixer James Harden expected to re-sign this summer.
Tyrese Maxey (left), new teammate Jaylen Brown, and the Sixers will first face Boston on Nov. 10 at home.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Brown’s first game against Boston (Nov. 10, NBC10)
There has been no love lost between Brown and the Celtics since he was traded to the Sixers on July 1. Brown still is coming to grips with the separation after spending the first 10 years of his career in Boston. Meanwhile, behind-the-scenes issues from his tenure there have started to emerge, as he and Jayson Tatum have carried on a cold war of sorts in the media and Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens struggles to explain the deal that netted an aging Paul George. Brown, fresh off his “favorite season” as the centerpiece in Boston, will need to learn to fit into a star-studded Sixers roster. But he’ll likely take center stage in this matchup.
Embiid returns to Houston after last season’s appendicitis (Nov. 28)
This game takes on significance for several reasons, chiefly Embiid’s return to Houston for the first time since he underwent an emergency appendectomy in April. That surgery was one in a long line of ill-timed Embiid injuries. Finally on a team with tangible title hopes, Embiid’s quest to stay healthy has never been more important.
Ownership weirdness aside, the Lakers still are one of the NBA’s cornerstone franchises. It’s the reason James chose them in 2018 when he last entertained changing teams. It’s the reason he made waves this summer when he declared his intention to leave the West Coast. Before that public divorce, the Lakers already appeared to be trending in another direction with Luka Dončić on a max deal, and Austin Reaves signed to another contract extension this offseason. Even at 41 years old, James will have extra motivation on Christmas Day in LA.
Sixers’ second meeting with Miami (Jan. 8, ESPN)
The Sixers’ and Miami Heat’s first matchup this season is Nov. 25. But with new rosters on both sides, they still will be figuring things out at that stage. This Jan. 8 meeting will be the real matchup. By then, James, Brown, and new Heat star Giannis Antetokounmpo will have had time meshing with their new rosters and figuring out life in new cities. The East is a gauntlet, and these franchises are part of what has altered the conference.
The Sixers will visit Giannis Antetokounmpo (right) and the Heat in January.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Brown returns to Boston (Jan. 21, Prime)
Brown’s news conference was a sign he intends to put down real roots in Philly. He also connected with Boston and will hold a block party later this month to put a bow on his tenure there. Celtics fans had plenty of reasons to love Brown, who helped deliver a title in 2024 and was Finals MVP. But then Brown will have to flip the switch and remember that he now plays for the team he was “programmed to hate.”
Game against OKC, McCain (Feb. 13, Prime)
The Sixers’ seismic offseason started with one February transaction. Jared McCain was sent to the Thunder at the February trade deadline, which likely spelled the end of Daryl Morey’s time in town. His trade was considered the linchpin that led to Gansey being hired, the trade for Brown, and the signing of James. Still, McCain remains well-liked in Philly, and his Thunder will serve as a crucial test for the Sixers right before the All-Star break.
One of the best performances of Embiid’s career came against one of the best defenders in NBA history. Embiid scored 70 points against then-rookie Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 22, 2024. It also was one of the final times Embiid looked fully healthy. He suffered a meniscus injury about a week later and underwent left knee surgery. Embiid’s health will be critical for the Sixers’ title hopes. This should serve as a nice test for him right before the playoffs.
Playoff tuneup against Golden State (March 31, ESPN)
Speaking of tests, the Sixers by this point likely will start to wind down and load manage before the postseason. So against Golden State, another team James considered this summer, the Sixers will play a franchise with a championship pedigree even if it’s past its prime years.
The NBA released the rest of the 76ers’ regular-season schedule Thursday afternoon, rounding out a much-anticipated slate after the team added stars LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to become preseason championship contenders.
Several marquee games were announced earlier this week, including the Sixers’ season opener (Oct. 20 at New York Knicks) and home opener (Oct. 22 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers); their holiday matchups on Christmas (at Los Angeles Lakers), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 18 at Atlanta Hawks), and Presidents Day (Feb. 15 at Dallas Mavericks); and their NBA Cup group play matchups (Oct. 30 vs. New York, Nov. 6 at Cleveland, Nov. 25 vs. Miami Heat, and Nov. 27 at Indiana Pacers).
The primary mystery still lingering entering Thursday was when All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown would make his return to Boston. That day will finally arrive Jan. 21 — unless one counts the Sixers’ preseason visit to TD Garden during which Brown, like many stars in those exhibitions, may not suit up.
Brown played his first 10 NBA seasons with the Celtics, developing into a five-time All-Star, 2024 NBA champion, and Finals MVP before being shockingly traded to the Sixers last month.
The Sixers will also play in Boston on March 7, a 1 p.m. game televised by ABC. The first Sixers-Celtics meeting will be Nov. 10 at Xfinity Mobile Arena, marking Paul George’s return to Philly after he was moved to Boston in that blockbuster deal. That November game also will be the first with stakes since their wild first-round playoff series, when the Sixers rallied from down three-games-to-one to win Game 7.
Sixers Joel Embiid covers Lakers LeBron James in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers at Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on Fri., Dec. 9, 2022.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Hello again, LeBron
The NBA had already placed James’ first game against the Lakers, for whom he had played the previous eight seasons, as a premier Christmas Day matchup. The all-time great also will return to Cleveland on Nov. 6 and March 1, and to Miami on Jan. 30 and April 8.
James won NBA titles and MVP awards with the Cavaliers and Heat, and was considering both teams during his elongated free agency. Instead, James chose to sign a two-year contract with the Sixers in what he called his final playing-destination decision.
One additional LeBron-related travel anecdote: The Sixers’ game at the Memphis Grizzlies is Feb. 3, after James said he is not the biggest fan of the hotel accommodations in that particular city. It is a single-game trip.
Heading West
Unsurprisingly, the Sixers’ two longest road trips of the season are primarily to the Western Conference.
That Lakers showdown on Christmas begins a five-game trip, which continues against the Los Angeles Clippers (Dec. 27), Sacramento Kings (Dec. 29), Phoenix Suns (Dec. 30), and Milwaukee Bucks (Jan. 1).
The Sixers also will head West four games in late March against the Utah Jazz (March 23), Golden State Warriors (March 24), Portland Trail Blazers (March 26), and Denver Nuggets (March 28). That finale in Denver is of note, considering former MVP Joel Embiid has not played in that city — and against former MVP-caliber center rival Nikola Jokic — since 2019.
Beyond those jaunts, the Sixers’ longest road trip of the season is three games coming out of the All-Star break in February. And two of those are against the New York teams (at Brooklyn Nets Feb. 25, at Knicks Feb. 27) and won’t require travel in between.
Noteworthy visits
Here is when several big names and former Sixers will visit Philly (barring health):
Oct. 25 and Feb. 5: Cade Cunningham(and Paul Reed and Isaiah Joe) with the Detroit Pistons
Nov. 12 and March 15: Kawhi Leonard (presumably) with the Toronto Raptors
Nov. 15 and Jan. 19: Kelly Oubre Jr. with the Indiana Pacers
Dec. 2: Jokic with the Nuggets
Dec. 23: Kevin Durant with the Houston Rockets
Jan. 6: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (and Jared McCain) with the Oklahoma City Thunder
Jared McCain (right) and the Thunder will visit Philly on Jan. 6.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
March 4: Luka Doncic (and Quentin Grimes) with the Lakers
March 21: Victor Wembanyama (and Tobias Harris) with the San Antonio Spurs
March 24: Stephen Curry (and, potentially, Jimmy Butler) with the Warriors
Other nuggets
The Sixers have 34 nationally televised games, a franchise record and the maximum allowed for a single team. That further embodies the immense attention on a star-studded roster. Ten of those are on Amazon Prime Video, while eight apiece are on ESPN and NBC/Peacock, five are on ABC, and three are on Peacock/NBC Sports Network.
The Sixers will play 13 back-to-backs, down from 16 last season. Managing those will be crucial to maintaining the health of James and Embiid, who previously said on the record that he may never play in both games of such a set again. The Sixers’ strangest back-to-back: Indiana to Houston over Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 27 and 28).
Nine of the Sixers’ 16 January games will be at home, the most in a month during the season. Matchups against the Washington Wizards (Jan. 12), Nets (Jan. 14), Clippers (Jan. 25), and Sacramento Kings (Jan. 27) — who are all expected to finish near the bottom of the standings — are part of that stretch.
Their final four games — vs. Atlanta, at Toronto, at Miami, vs. Charlotte — could go a long way in determining postseason seeding and exemplifies the newfound depth of the Eastern Conference.
The offseason heading into LeBron James’ 24th season has already been full of fireworks, and his latest social media post added to the anticipation for his 76ers debut later this fall.
James, who has enjoyed a long partnership with Nike throughout his career, teased the release of his 24th signature shoe Wednesday on Instagram, which he called “the lightest LeBron’s ever.”
Wearing his new signature shoes during what appears to be a morning workout, the low top LeBron XXIVs include an aqua blue base color with a black lining tracing the midsole, sockline, and lace panel, and gold accents with his signature crown logo on the shoe’s tongue. The material on the shoe, which looks like a mesh fishing net, is reportedly called “KingKnit,” according to Nick DePaula, and the outsole has an outline of a crown.
In the last slide of his post, James appeared to give a sneak preview of some other colorways for the shoe. Among them are a two-toned pink colorway, a white and red pair, a charcoal gray and dark red colorway, and a two-toned yellow pair.
James will join teammate Tyrese Maxey in releasing new shoes to the public this fall. Maxey announced earlier this week that his signature shoe, the New Balance Maxey v1, will drop on Oct. 2 in three colorways: In a black base made of suede and mesh material, with light blueish gray accents that swoop into the design, a white and cream base with light blueish gray accents, and a black base with orangish red accents.
Several sneaker outlets are reporting that the LeBron XXIV shoe is expected on Nov. 17 at a retail price of $200.
On Wednesday, just two and a half weeks later, Cai was putting the finishing touches on his mural, which has already created a scene at 10th and Arch Streets in Chinatown, with residents and tourists alike stopping to take pictures and chat with the artist.
The purpose of the mural, Cai says, isn’t just to celebrate the Sixers’ big signing, it’s also to bring people to his community.
“I know this mural can bring positive interest to Chinatown,” Cai said. “There’s a lot of controversy about Chinatown, a lot, so I wanted to show some of the Asian elements in the art and bring business to this area, to this community — my community.”
When sketching out his plan for the mural, which is painted on the side of a Vietnamese restaurant across from the Chinatown Friendship Gate, the famous photo of James and Dwyane Wade combining for an alley-oop in Miami immediately came to mind. From there, Cai (蔡陈林) — who asked that we print his Chinese name so his mom, who can’t read English, could see her son’s name in print — was inspired by Philadelphia and his heritage to make it his own.
James Smith captures a photo with his phone of the LeBron James mural at 10th and Arch Streets.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
He replaced Wade with a bronze William Penn, a nod to Penn’s statue atop City Hall, and included a wave reminiscent of The Great Wave off Kanagawa, a famous piece of Asian art, that crests into a dragon image. Cai explained that the dragon represents an ancient Chinese legend known as the “Dragon’s Gate,” which symbolizes hard work, bravery, and good fortune.
“Just as in the legend, where a fish that leaps over the Dragon’s Gate transforms into a dragon, LeBron’s arrival in Philadelphia portends that his career will reach new peaks. As LeBron soared through the air, the waves rose up and transformed into a dragon,” Cai wrote in the description of his mural.
No detail was too small. He even matched LeBron’s sneakers to his own favorite pair, which was a Christmas gift from his wife, Xingzi: the Nike LeBron Soldier 14 EP “Sisterhood.”
“Philadelphia is The City of Brotherly Love, and I wanted to include it for everybody, and because these shoes are called the ‘Sisterhood,’ the whole city is welcoming him,” Cai said, beaming as he took pictures with fans.
Pedestrians walk past a LeBron James mural at 10th and Arch Streets on Wednesday. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
This is not Cai’s first Chinatown mural. He painted the crane mural that went up in 2022 and, more recently, a collection of 20 different World Cup murals celebrating some of the countries that played in the tournament. The U.S. installment is located right next to his LeBron mural.
Among all his works, this one is extra special for Cai, who isn’t just a lifelong 76ers fan — he’s also been a LeBron fan since before he entered the league.
“We are the same age. He is like my bro,” Cai said. “I watched him when he was in high school, even in 2002, when he was called ‘The Chosen One.’”
As people passed by and fist bumped Cai on Wednesday, some stopped to chat about their shared love for the game and excitement over the upcoming season, while others hit the Wade pose for a meme of their own. Each time someone took a picture, Cai encouraged them to post on social media and continue to spread his message.
“I am just so happy with the attention this has been getting,” Cai said. “It means so much for me and my family, and this is the true purpose of my art, to bring more traffic to Chinatown and help the small businesses here.”
