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Tag: LeBron James

  • Philly sports summer? It’s Philly sports fall with a deluge of big events for each of the city’s pro teams

    Philly sports summer? It’s Philly sports fall with a deluge of big events for each of the city’s pro teams

    Whatever plans you have this weekend, cancel them. There are more important things going on.

    Starting this weekend, all five major pro sports in Philly will have major things going on that carry into the week ahead.

    From sitting on the brink of another Red October to welcoming Philly’s newest superstar, here is what all five Philly teams have on the horizon:

    Phillies

    There is no phrase more indicative of the Phillies’ season than “the ebbs and flows of baseball.” This season, which started with a 9-19 record for the club’s worst 28-game start with Rob Thomson at the helm, has evolved into an 87-71 season under interim manager Don Mattingly.

    Just like when Thomson took over for Girardi in 2022 and led the Phillies to the postseason for the first time in 11 years, Mattingly is on the cusp of leading the Phillies to the postseason after taking over for Thomson, who was fired on April 28.

    With a magic number of two going into Thursday’s games, the most direct path to a postseason berth is a Phillies win and Diamondbacks or Padres loss. Sitting in the third and final NL wild card spot at the beginning of the day Thursday, the Phillies can lock in their fifth consecutive postseason.

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    Eagles

    After starting the season 2-0 with two- and four-point wins over the Washington Commanders and Tennessee Titans, respectively, the Eagles are gearing up for Monday Night Football in Week 3.

    As the Birds head to Chicago to take on the Bears (8:15 p.m., 6abc, ESPN), many questions surround the game, including the status of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, who is listed as doubtful with a hamstring injury.

    Eagles fans calling to ‘save Philadelphia tailgating’ after new guidelines proposed for sports complex

    While Williams is week to week for the Bears (1-1), Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert is expected to be out for multiple weeks with an MCL injury. Enter Zach Ertz, who played eight-plus seasons with the Eagles and was signed to the practice squad on Monday.

    Murphy: With tight ends hurt and blockers struggling, the Eagles need Zach Ertz to be more than a good story

    Ertz, 35, was a free agent recovering from a torn ACL, LCL, and hamstring suffered in December 2025. Now back in green, Ertz is just 11 catches from breaking Harold Carmichael’s franchise career catch record.

    76ers

    No king is official without a coronation, and LeBron James is getting his Monday when he’s expected to speak for the first time as a 76er.

    After a long-awaited decision, “King James” signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Sixers on July 24, but he hasn’t had any public appearances with the team yet. However, the team will have its media day Monday, marking James’ anticipated first appearance and first time speaking as a part of the Sixers organization.

    The media day also will be the first in Philly for Jaylen Brown, who held his introductory news conference with the Sixers on Aug. 6.

    Jaylen Brown on Philly fans: 'The fan base here is incredible'
    Video: Jaylen Brown on Philly fans: ‘The fan base here is incredible’

    Flyers

    Last season, what many expected to be another year of rebuilding for the Flyers ended in the second round of the playoffs after being swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.

    Now, the hype around the Orange and Black has been established and is carrying into the team’s season opener Wednesday at Xfinity Mobile Arena when they take on the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins after eliminating them in first round of last season’s playoffs, four games to two.

    Eyes are on goalie Dan Vladař, who played a big role in the Flyers’ success last season but left Tuesday’s preseason 5-1 loss to the Bruins with an upper-body injury. Porter Martone, the 19-year-old right winger who played nine regular-season games and all 10 playoff games, also brings his own level of fanfare to the team.

    Flyers goalie Joseph Woll says Dan Vladař’s injury doesn’t ‘change my process’ or ‘mindset’

    Union

    This summer was big for soccer in Philadelphia as it hosted six World Cup games. But even after the tourists retreated and Philadelphia Stadium became Lincoln Financial Field again, soccer has remained relevant in the city.

    The Union have gone 9-0-2 in Major League Soccer since the World Cup break after firing manager Bradley Carnell on May 27.

    Currently sixth in the Eastern Conference with 36 points and sitting in a playoff spot, Cavan Sullivan, the 16-year-old homegrown star, has brought even more attention to the team after being called up to the U.S. men’s national team alongside teammates Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield.

    Sullivan, Pierre, and Westfield could make their USMNT debuts Saturday vs. Peru in Orlando (4:30 p.m., TNT). Meanwhile, the Union will look to improve to an unbeaten streak of 12 when they host Orlando City at Subaru Park on Saturday.

    Union star Cavan Sullivan (front) is in his first camp with the senior U.S. men’s national team.Jonathan Tannenwald
  • Viral video of LeBron James missing jumpers in an open gym sparks debate online

    Viral video of LeBron James missing jumpers in an open gym sparks debate online

    All eyes are on LeBron James … at all times.

    On Tuesday morning, a minute-long video of James, who signed with the 76ers over the summer, missing jumpers at an open run in California started going viral on X.

    The original YouTube video the clips were taken from is over an hour long, sparking backlash from James’ loyal fans and other X users.

    One account responded to the post saying “The fact that people spend their time making a missed shot lowlight reel just confirms he’s the Greatest Ever.” Others pointed out that in the full video, James goes 11-for-19 and accused fellow users of “nitpicking” as a way to generate clicks and popularity for their posts.

    A user posted a second compilation with videos of James’ jumpers, most of which are from beyond the three-point line at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, Calif.

    In response to the highlight video, a user pointed out that the prevalence of smartphones with cameras has placed all athletes in a position to be recorded and painted in a certain light at any time.

    Others said it seems no athlete is more scrutinized than James, who one user said has workouts that are analyzed more than some players’ playoff performances.

    Most of the users who were defending James and not following for what they referred to as “clickbait,” agreed, that at 41 years old and as the current oldest player in the NBA, James is faring a lot better than many athletes his age, and fans are excited to see what his 24th season will hold.

    And one thing they know for certain is that more James scrutiny is soon to come.

  • Sixers fans experience sticker shock after single-game tickets go on sale for 2026-27 season

    Sixers fans experience sticker shock after single-game tickets go on sale for 2026-27 season

    It should come as no surprise that 76ers tickets will be significantly more expensive this season after the massive additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown.

    But last Thursday’s single-game ticket drop and the earlier presale for season-ticket holders still caused a bit of sticker shock for fans.

    Single-game ticket prices started at $75 before fees for upper-deck seating, which bumped the final tally up to $88 with fees.

    However, that base-level price was only available for six of the Sixers’ 41 home games at point-of-sale. Those include games against the Bulls (Nov. 2), Raptors (Nov. 12), Grizzlies (Dec. 1), Wizards (Jan. 12), Clippers (Jan. 25), and Hawks (April 4).

    Sixers are bringing back longtime PA announcer Matt Cord

    For marquee games, including games against the Knicks and the home opener against Cleveland on Oct. 22, primary ticket prices started at $320.

    For years, the Sixers searched for a solution to Knicks fans taking over Xfinity Mobile Arena. In the playoffs in 2024 and 2026, everyone from Joel Embiid to Sixers ownership to Fanatics owner Michael Rubin pitched in to fill the arena with Sixers fans, to no avail.

    At Madison Square Garden, faced with similar fan complaints of price gouging (opening-night Knicks vs. Sixers tickets were running fans upward of $1,000 just to get in the building), Knicks ownership paused single-game ticket sales, apologized, and said that “mistakes” had been made in pricing the tickets.

    “We are rolling back to last year’s prices plus an average increase of 12 percent,” the team said in a release.

    Sixers tickets are still well below that threshold. Even on the secondary market, tickets for marquee games like the home opener vs. the Cavs and home games against the Knicks start at approximately $359.

    After the Sixers’ disastrous 2024-25 season, when Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey suffered season-ending injuries and the team won 24 games, the Sixers offered season-ticket holders the opportunity to extend for two seasons at the same price.

    That means ticket holders who chose to renew are still paying the same rate from two seasons ago to watch a team now featuring James and Brown.

    Currently, season-ticket holders cannot sell or transfer their tickets through the member portal on Ticketmaster, so secondary-market prices could drop further as more inventory becomes available. But others already are listing tickets on platforms like StubHub, with plans to transfer later.

    Adem Bona hypes up the fans after during Game 3 of the Sixers’ first-round series against Boston in April.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    Resale policies changed over the summer. Before the Sixers signed James, full season-ticket holders could sell up to 10 games without facing a penalty. Since James’ signing, a contract sent to The Inquirer showed that number has dropped to seven games, and season-ticket holders already are reporting that the Sixers are sending notices to fans who have been identified as potential brokers that their tickets could be revoked.

    During a season of high expectations and increased fan interest, full and partial season-ticket prices also have risen dramatically, even since the beginning of the summer. One season-ticket holder who invested after the Sixers traded for Brown, but before they signed James, secured a lower-level package for approximately $250 per ticket per game. Single-game tickets in a similar location are running upward of $1,000 for marquee games at face value.

    Former Sixer Paul George says Celtics fans’ response to Jaylen Brown trade was ‘fair’

    “I think ultimately, this will be good for the city and for the Sixers,” comedian and Sixers fan Samantha Ruddy said. “… There will be more passion in the stands than last season, but I’ll miss getting to have a night out at an NBA game for a bargain with my buds.”

    Ticket availability, especially in the more expensive lower-bowl sections, already is limited after just days of single-game tickets being on sale. The Sixers open training camp on Sept. 29 before beginning the season on the road at the Knicks on Oct. 20.

  • ‘You see where big dog ended up?’ Anthony Edwards roasts LeBron James, Jaylen Brown in sneaker ad

    ‘You see where big dog ended up?’ Anthony Edwards roasts LeBron James, Jaylen Brown in sneaker ad

    Anthony Edwards came for new 76ers stars LeBron James and Jaylen Brown in a roast-style commercial released Thursday afternoon.

    In the video promoting his new sneakers with Adidas, the Anthony Edwards 3, the Minnesota Timberwolves star dunked on James’ decision to play for the Sixers.

    “You see where big dog ended up? He was going to join me in Minnesota, but I guess his knees couldn’t handle the cold weather,” Edwards said jokingly.

    LeBron James is on a tour of Angola this week to support his … electric powerboat racing team?

    The comedy continued in the commercial, dubbed “Minn-Atlanta-Sota,” a homage to Edwards’ hometown. Edwards also came for their haircuts — or lack thereof.

    “We know why he really made that decision,” Edwards said. “Philly has some of the best barbers in the world. Between him and ol’ boy from Boston, they’re going to have a whole lot of enhancements going on in the locker room.”

    Those “enhancements” Edwards is referring to? Hair spray paint. Both basketball stars have been the butt of jokes about their hairlines.

    Brown caught flak last season for hair product mishaps after the product appeared to rub off onto opponents’ jerseys during games. James, 41, is no stranger to jabs at his hairline, having gone viral for his suspiciously thick hair in Space Jam and faced more than a few hair transplant accusations. Basketball fans on social media are now joking about the newly teamed-up duo’s shared struggle.

    @nbcsboston

    Jaylen Brown’s spray on hair rubbed off again… 😂

    ♬ original sound – NBC Sports Boston – NBC Sports Boston

    Not even the NBA champions were safe.

    “If you’re on the court against me, anybody could get it, even your daddy. I don’t care if he’s your assistant coach,” Edwards said in a lighthearted dig at ’Nova Knick Jalen Brunson and his dad, New York Knicks assistant Rick Brunson.

    Edwards, who led his team to a 49-33 record and the Western Conference semifinals last season, also said that for his upcoming season, “the cage is open, and the dog is unleashed.” Sixers fans will get to see that up close on Jan. 16, when the Timberwolves visit Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    Anthony Edwards will face Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers in January.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
  • Just how much will the Sixers starting lineup have to sacrifice for one another? Here’s a look at the numbers.

    Just how much will the Sixers starting lineup have to sacrifice for one another? Here’s a look at the numbers.

    In the wake of the 76ers’ monumental offseason, one concern that players have already started addressing in various statements is, “How much are players going to sacrifice?”

    Having as much talent as the Sixers have on their roster naturally leads to questions about roles and shot distribution, since there’s only one ball to go around.

    Landing Jaylen Brown and LeBron James in the same offseason will of course invite skeptics who doubt the fit and wonder whether everyone’s games can mesh. But this is a champagne problem in the NBA. Most teams would be lucky to have this as one of its main issues heading into training camp.

    New Sixer Jaylen Brown acknowledged that his team will need to sacrifice. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    “Obviously it’s a lot of guys with talent,” Brown said last month. “It’s egos, but to win, you got to be able to sacrifice, be able to have trust and communication.”

    Along those lines, here’s a look at how the Sixers might address that through the lens of a statistic that measures how often a player consumes his team’s possessions, usage rate, which measures how often a team’s possessions ends with either a shot, free throws or a turnover from a particular player when he is on the floor.

    A glance at the starting five

    First, here were the individual usage rates last season (according to NBA.com) for each player in the projected starting five, and where they ranked in the league.

    • Tyrese Maxey: 28.6% (27th)
    • VJ Edgecombe: 19.6% (181st)
    • Jaylen Brown: 35.1% (third)
    • LeBron James: 26.2% (47th)
    • Joel Embiid: 33.6% (sixth)

    Potential paths forward

    Quick addition will show all those percentages equal 143.1 when they need to equal closer to 100 (since not everyone will always be playing together at the same time). In some lineup combinations, and in games in which Embiid and/or James don’t play, that’ll be the time for Maxey, Edgecombe and Brown to have higher usage stretches than they would have when everyone is healthy. But when all five are healthy and on the floor, likely everyone is going to have to sacrifice to make the usage pie work.

    Five key stats to remember as the Sixers enter a season with title hopes

    James has already indicated with his play that this is where he is headed in his career, and perhaps why general manager Mike Gansey has been hyping up James’ ability to be a connector.

    James’ usage actually hit a career low last season, as he ceded more scoring opportunities in the Los Angeles Lakers offense to Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic. This worked for the Lakers, who were playing well before Reaves and Doncic got hurt later in the season. James averaged 7.2 assists, so having him lean more into a connector and creator role in the Sixers’ offense is a prime way for the offense to generate shots naturally when the starting five is on the floor.

    This could allow Maxey to play more frequently off the ball, where he can be efficient from three-point range.

    Looking at Brown’s numbers

    Another obvious place to look for decreased usage is Brown, who saw a spike in that statistic with Jayson Tatum out for the majority of last season for the Boston Celtics. Brown went from 28.2% the prior season to his 35.1% mark last year (he attempted four more shots, averaged 2.4 free throws and one more turnover per game).

    The Sixers’ star-studded lineup could mean big things for Tyrese Maxey’s three-point shooting

    Brown returning to a usage level similar to what he had playing alongside Tatum makes sense, considering he won’t have to shoulder the burden of heavy shot creation playing alongside Maxey, Embiid and James. How he adjusts his game to the roster around him is one of the more interesting questions of the early part of the Sixers season and could go a long way to determining just what this team looks like.

    A load off Embiid’s shoulders, and legs

    The potential path to Embiid’s role on the team may lie in his 2024 Olympics experience playing with James. There, Embiid took on a reduced role on Team USA’s path to the gold medal.

    Joel Embiid served as a role player on the Team USA win in the 2024 Olympics. AFP via Getty Images

    The offense doesn’t have to run through him when he’s on the floor, especially if the Sixers are going to utilize one of the strengths of this roster — getting out in transition. This could serve a dual purpose in freeing up shots for the rest of the lineup while allowing Embiid to avoid accumulating as much wear and tear game to game.

    Getting out in transition

    The Sixers have four of the top 15 scorers in transition from a season ago. One way to get everyone his fill of shots is to play fast and have more possessions. If the Sixers commit to playing that way some of the usage issues will take care of themselves. Inevitably, there will still be things to figure out in the halfcourt, especially when it comes to who is taking what shots late in close games.

    That will take time to sort through. But the Sixers, in their comments so far this summer, have indicated they know the challenge ahead, and so far, they seem willing to tackle it head on instead of avoiding it.

  • Known Ohio State fan LeBron James lends his voice for his Buckeyes’ football hype video

    Known Ohio State fan LeBron James lends his voice for his Buckeyes’ football hype video

    NBA superstar LeBron James may not have played in college himself, but the Akron, Ohio, native is locked in for the start of Ohio State’s football season.

    James, who signed with the 76ers for two years and $8 million earlier this summer, voiced the Buckeyes’ preseason hype video ahead of Saturday’s opener vs. Ball State, themed around “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Metallica. A Sixers reference? Who knows.

    “In old Ohio, there’s a team, known throughout the land, whose name is met with reverence and understanding of one thing: the bell tolls,” James said in the trailer. “Every new beginning is born from another’s reckoning. A judgment of toughness, of fight. Nothing is given; everything is earned. Once these gates close, there’s no more options. Stand before us. Woe to the vanquished.”

    James has been an Ohio State fan since childhood, having grown up in northeast Ohio. He attended Ohio State’s College Football Playoff national title game vs. Notre Dame in January 2025 — as did fellow Buckeyes fan Bryce Harper.

  • Which member of the Sixers’ Big 5 will have to sacrifice most?

    Which member of the Sixers’ Big 5 will have to sacrifice most?

    The 76ers are entering the 2026-27 season with an embarrassment of riches. LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe have formed a group that president of basketball Mike Gansey dubbed the “Big Five.”

    They’ve said and done the right things this summer, from team workouts during the offseason to discussing their willingness to give for the greater good.

    During a recent interview, Maxey was asked about Edgecombe potentially needing to sacrifice in his second season. Maxey rejected the idea and said every player on the team will need to take a step back. But that made The Inquirer wonder: Who will sacrifice the most this season?

    With that in mind, our Sixers team offers insight on who will need to embrace the most change in order for this star-studded roster to succeed.

    Chris Hine, Sixers beat writer: Joel Embiid

    Never in his NBA career has Embiid had a usage rate below 32.9%, the statistic that calculates how often a team’s possessions end with the player generating a shot attempt, committing a turnover, or going to the free-throw line. Everyone else in the Sixers’ starting lineup has had fluctuations in their usage throughout their careers, while Edgecombe posted a usage rate of 20.1% as a rookie. Brown won a championship in 2024 alongside a higher-usage player in Jayson Tatum, while James had a career low in usage last season while ceding possessions to Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves with the Lakers.

    In other words, Embiid hasn’t often had to play in the NBA while not being the focal point of the offense or having the ball in his hands a lot. That likely will have to change this season. The seven-time All-Star center will have to make adjustments on how to impact the game more offensively while taking fewer shots and using the gravity he draws to generate good looks for his teammates.

    Joel Embiid and LeBron James first played together as teammates in the 2024 Olympics. AFP via Getty Images

    If his 2024 Olympics performance alongside James is any indication, though, Embiid has shown he is willing to do that in the name of winning. Perhaps a lower usage rate in games also equates to less wear and tear on his body over the course of the season and will allow him a better chance of being in peak form come playoff time.

    One of the luxuries for this Sixers team is that anyone in the starting lineup is capable of carrying the team at any given moment, on any given night. There will still be nights on which Embiid does that, but perhaps not as much as he has had to throughout his career.

    DeAntae Prince, Sixers editor: Tyrese Maxey

    Maxey was selected with the No. 21 pick in the 2020 NBA draft as a backup point guard to provide support for Ben Simmons and Shake Milton. During the subsequent regular season, he also played fewer minutes than Seth Curry and Furkan Korkmaz.

    Let that sink in.

    Of course, he did provide a few flashes that postseason and had a breakout of sorts in his second season, but the expectation still wasn’t for Maxey to become an All-NBA-caliber player. That changed in his fourth season, when he averaged 25.9 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.7 rebounds and was named an All-Star (alongside Embiid) and Most Improved Player.

    No matter his role, VJ Edgecombe can’t wait to play with his new Sixers teammates

    Since then, Maxey has become the franchise, making good on the nickname Embiid gave him early in his career. Now an All-NBA player and two-time All-Star, Maxey served as his team’s unquestioned leader for the past two seasons as Embiid and Paul George struggled to stay on the court. This offseason brought about more change with the additions of James and Brown, and no player on the roster will experience a bigger change to their existence than Maxey.

    What does all that mean for him? He will be asked to share more than ever since becoming a star with the Sixers. He will share the ball, leadership responsibilities, and accolades. He will be point guard for a new “Big Five″ in Philly after finishing fifth in NBA scoring at 28.3 points and maintaining a 28.6% usage rate, which sat among the top 30 players in the league last season. Brown, at 35.1%, was third behind Dončić and Giannis Antetokounmpo. James wasn’t far behind Maxey at 27%.

    Add that Brown, a former Eastern Conference and NBA Finals MVP, was tasked with helping lead the Sixers by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment president of sports Bob Myers and that James, one of the best players in NBA history, has been lauded for his ability to lead since he was a teenager. It will be Maxey’s job to keep Brown, James, and Embiid happy and continue to nurture the development of Edgecombe. Still, after getting the keys to the franchise, Maxey will need to hand a piece of it back.

  • The LeBron hype has not died down as Sixers fans line up outside the arena for James and Jaylen Brown jerseys

    The LeBron hype has not died down as Sixers fans line up outside the arena for James and Jaylen Brown jerseys

    It’s been over a month since LeBron James announced he was coming to Philly to finish his career with the 76ers, and the fanfare has not slowed down.

    The Sixers team store at Xfinity Mobile Arena opened on Tuesday (and will be open again on Wednesday), giving fans another opportunity to get their hands on fresh gear ahead of the season, including newly-minted James and Jaylen Brown jerseys.

    Fans who lined up outside the store before it opened to secure the new jerseys were greeted by members of the Sixers entertainment team and music as they entered the store.

    How much will LeBron boost NBC Sports Philadelphia? Here’s what the past says.

    Victoria Isley, the team’s vice president of partnership solutions, said that while the store is normally open only on game days, the Sixers wanted to do something special to help fans gear up for the season given the hype surrounding the team — and the demand for James jerseys.

    “Fans have been so excited since this entire offseason, [with] multiple acquisitions,” Isley said. “So I think we’re ready to have the season start, and I think fans are showing it by lining up early to get their gear and their jerseys ahead of the season.”

    Evelina Capelli, 12, and her brother Anthony Capelli, 10, of South Philadelphia, are greeted by the Sixers Entertainment Squad as they enter the team store at Xfinity Mobile Arena.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    Turning the team store into an event, Isley said, was the Sixers organization’s way of showing what it expects the vibes to be like all season. Isley believes the excitement will continue into media day and the start of preseason, carrying all the way into the season opener.

    And most fans at the store on Tuesday — like 21-year-old Cam Johnson, from Oak Ridge, N.J. — expect the excitement of the season to culminate with a parade down Broad Street.

    Sixers fans got their first look at LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, and Tyrese Maxey on the court together

    “The hype is definitely going to continue,” Johnson said. “Anytime you got LeBron James on your team, you’re going to get heightened media attention, fan attention, all that. But we got the GOAT on our team, in my opinion, two GOATs on our team, and I expect to win a championship because this team made it to the second round last year.

    “Now you’re inserting the greatest player of all time with this team — and I think he fits seamlessly — and now you got Jaylen Brown too. I got high expectations.”

    Stacy Romeo, of South Philly, looks over some Sixers gear while Antoine Mapp, leader of the Sixers Stixers drum line, brings the energy.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    While Johnson believes James, 41, to be the best player ever, he thinks that this season, Brown, 29, will make the bigger on-court impact for the Sixers and average more points than James due to the different stages of their careers.

    Still, it was James’ jersey that was the main event on Tuesday.

    Stephanie Hannum, 36, drove from Cape May to buy her son a James jersey ahead of his 14th birthday on Wednesday. Hannum used to have to buy her son James merchandise in yellow and purple when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers.

    Sixers hiring assistant coach Phil Handy, a veteran with deep ties to LeBron James

    Now, with James on the Sixers, Hannum said she hopes to take her son to more games while wearing red and blue to support his favorite team and favorite player.

    “He’s a huge LeBron fan and a 76ers fan,” Hannum said. “As soon as [James] got signed, it was like all he could talk about, so I was like, I need to drive up here to get this today.”

    Fortunately, Hannum was able to find one that fit her son. Some fans had complained about a lack of available youth jerseys, but a Sixers representative noted that was due to the demand, and they restocked later in the afternoon.

    Noah Hammad, 12, wears the jersey of one Philly great while shopping for merchandise of the city’s newest superstar, LeBron James. Hammad had to settle for a T-shirt due to a lack of jerseys in youth sizes.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    The combination of Philly fans, known for being an impassioned group, and hard core James’ supporters, who follow him from team to team, has caused the future Hall of Famer’s Sixers jerseys to become a hot commodity. James quickly passed Shohei Ohtani for the most jersey sales after switching teams, according to Fanatics.

    When James’ jersey hit Dick’s Sporting Goods, they quickly flew off the shelves there too.

    LeBron James releasing sneaker to commemorate only All-Star Game he missed

    At the team store in South Philly on Tuesday, the turnout was just the latest display of the fan base’s passion and excitement for the season, which Isley said stems from “nothing but love.”

    “The fans have been waiting, and I think they’re just so excited to rep the gear, to get LeBron’s jersey, to get Jaylen’s jersey, to get [Tyrese] Maxey’s jersey,” Isley said. “So, it’s incredible to see everyone come out and bring everyone together.”

  • Is Ariel Hukporti ready to become the Sixers’ backup center? A Knicks reporter weighs in.

    Is Ariel Hukporti ready to become the Sixers’ backup center? A Knicks reporter weighs in.

    A wild 76ers offseason has finally settled, after they stunningly signed LeBron James and traded for Jaylen Brown to vault into championship contender status.

    To help Sixers followers get acquainted with the newcomers on this revamped roster, The Inquirer reached out to reporters who covered those players on their previous teams.

    First up is The Athletic’s James Edwards III, who covered reserve center Ariel Hukporti during his first two NBA seasons with the New York Knicks.

    Gina Mizell: Hukporti obviously did not get much playing time during his first two NBA seasons behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson. So how would you describe his game, and where did he most develop (or not develop) behind the scenes?

    James Edwards III: Hukporti is your typical “traditional” center. He runs the floor hard. He goes after loose balls. He attempts to be active defensively. I think he’s improved as a screener from Year 1 to Year 2. It’s really nerdy stuff, but a good screener does positively impact offenses.

    LeBron James could live in New York while playing in Philly. Wilt Chamberlain did it first.

    He isn’t unskilled, but his skills haven’t revealed themselves on the court. He doesn’t really do anything off the dribble. He isn’t a great finesse finisher right now. And while he doesn’t shoot threes, I’ve watched him shoot threes behind the scenes and the shot doesn’t look bad. I could see him trying to add the three-ball to his game with more opportunities and reps.

    GM: Were you surprised Hukporti left the Knicks in free agency? Or did you think there was a chance he would stay given Robinson’s departure?

    JE: I was surprised because I didn’t think other teams would have interest, let alone give him more than the minimum. He didn’t play many significant minutes for New York. He’s going into his third NBA season, but he’s 24. He’s had a couple knee injuries over the last few seasons. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the Knicks wanted to keep him around as the third center, but, yeah, I was surprised he got the deal he did from another team.

    GM: Simply put, is Hukporti ready to be a backup center — and a spot starter when Joel Embiid is injured or resting? He will be competing with Adem Bona for that job.

    JE: To be honest, I don’t think so, not for where the Sixers want to go. If a rebuilding team or a team without championship aspirations this season wanted to see him in that role, that would make more sense.

    Ariel Hukporti (55) will compete for the backup center spot behind Joel Embiid. John McDonnell / AP

    Philadelphia giving him 10-plus minutes a night … I just haven’t seen enough from him to believe that he can immediately be a reliable backup option every single night. I’m not saying that he can’t do it, but I haven’t really seen anything to suggest that he can right now. I’m rooting for him because he’s a good guy and works hard. I hope I’m wrong.

    GM: Despite the sparse playing time, what do you think Hukporti most gained/learned (on or off the floor) from being immersed in the Knicks’ championship run?

    JE: He got to be around great players and [learned] what makes them tick, how they work. He learned about standards. Hukporti played for two disciplined coaches in Tom Thibodeau and Mike Brown, both of whom had high standards.

    I also think it helps that all Hukporti knows at the NBA level is winning, which can’t be said for many Knicks draft picks between the late 1970s and today. At the very least, he’s been around a positive program and understands the inner workings of winning.

    GM: How would you describe Hukporti as a teammate and locker-room presence?

    JE: Great guy. His teammates — both veterans and youngsters — loved him, and so did his coaches. He’s not afraid to show his personality, and that was in New York where the franchise pushes players not to show their personalities. Funny guy, too. I never had a bad interaction with Hukporti and I don’t know anyone who did.

    Jaylen Brown’s Boston return, LeBron James’ tour, and more Sixers schedule observations
  • LeIbrahim Muhammad, LeBoul James, and the art of giving very Philly nicknames to LeBron James

    LeIbrahim Muhammad, LeBoul James, and the art of giving very Philly nicknames to LeBron James

    We know who King LeBron James is. But LeBoul James? He’s one of us.

    Mere hours after James announced he was signing with the Sixers, Philadelphia fans started honoring him with public artwork, billboards, merch, sunburned backs, and his own state-designated day.

    But among fans’ biggest gestures of goodwill is trying to find James a Philly-coded nickname.

    “I like LeJawn. It’s so Philly,” said Saleem Lewis, owner of clothing label What Happened to Love and a Frankford native.

    Lewis said the rush to give James a local nickname reflects the NBA superstar’s natural kinship with Philadelphians.

    “If you’re not from here, you might not get it. But the jokes are all out of love,” he said.

    “I like the one I came up with, ‘Abdul Maalik James,’” said social media creator Jamaal Thomas, who created an AI image of James wearing a thobe and kufi.

    A billboard welcoming LeBron James along Packer Avenue, in South Philadelphia on July 24, 2026.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Another moniker doing the rounds on social media is “LeIbrahim Muhammad.”

    The root of the nicknames and ensuing AI-generated memes is a fusion of hip-hop and Muslim cultures. These two elements are deeply embedded in the fabric of the city’s Black community, as evidenced by the influence of rappers like Freeway, Beanie Sigel, and PnB Rock, who “weaved the imagery, religious symbology, and practice of Islam into their lyrics,” said James Peterson, professor of literature at Delaware State University and host of Evening WURDs.

    Within this meme and nickname multiverse, Philly slang like jawn and boul — both with roots in the city’s African American Vernacular English — coexists with Black Muslim content creators throwing in names like Ibrahim and Abdul. The result is a high form of welcome extended to the King of the Hardwood from the City of Brotherly Love.

    A welcome sign for new Sixers LeBron James on a SEPTA bus shelter along Market Street in Center City on Saturday, July 25, 2026.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    “This is part of the reason the memes resonate with Philadelphians because whether you’re Muslim or not, the culture of Philadelphia is Islamic,” Peterson added. “You can’t go through places like Malcolm X Park or other areas of Philly without seeing the accouterments of the Islamic faith all around us. It’s not just the mosques; it’s the brothers and the sisters in the streets. It’s in the air in Philadelphia.”

    Also, as Lewis points out, “Philly embraces people who work, compete, and don’t back down. LeBron has been doing that for over 20 years.”

    A passerby is seen with a mosaic of LeBron James on Eighth and Market Streets in Philadelphia on July 28, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

    The ‘Philly beard,’ a thobe, and LeIbrahim Muhammad

    For West Philly native Max Johnson Dugan, a visiting professor of Islam at Trinity University, the memes highlighting Philly’s Black Muslim culture through James, who is a Christian, are a “brilliant” balance of humor and “self-seriousness.”

    “I’ve prayed next to people, packed food boxes, and volunteered at parks, or been in dialogue with folks who are dressed like those memes,” he said. “To me, it’s a beautiful thing that people can chuckle about this and live in a way that’s serious and significant to them.”

    Dugan said James’ beard may be familiar to Philly’s Black Muslims because it resembles a style many followers believe was donned and ordained by the Prophet Muhammad. It’s commonly known as a “Sunni” or “Sunnah beard” in Philly, and those outside of the city call it a “Philly beard.” Dugan said it’s possible content creators saw the similarity between James’ beard and others by practicing Muslims, and “put two and two together.”

    The Miller Theater in Philadelphia welcomes LeBron James on July 29, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    The memes may be fabricated, Peterson said, but have a “kernel of truth,” that James is coming into a “Black Islamic world.” The doctored images of James in a kufi and thobe, shared by the likes of educator, author, and media personality Marc Lamont Hill and hip-hop artist D Sturdy, acknowledge James as a Philly guy, one of us, even before he steps foot in the city.

    “LeBron coming to Philadelphia means that all of Philadelphia embraces him. And that also means one of the largest Black Muslim populations [in the U.S.] and one of the most distinct Black Muslim cultures is embracing him, too,” said Peterson.

    The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James shares a laugh with Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey during a game on Dec. 7, 2025, in Philadelphia.Chris Szagola / AP

    For Dugan, the memes are interesting in the way newly-traded star Jaylen Brown, who is Muslim and has traveled to Mecca to perform Umrah, hasn’t been welcomed with similar nicknames or memes in the same breath as James.

    “I don’t want to speculate,” Dugan said, “I would say it points to [James’] visibility and significance. It’s funnier to share a meme of [James in Muslim traditional wear] than it is to share a meme of [Brown].”

    “It has irony and tongue and cheek-ness,” he said.

    Photo collage of LeBron James throughout his NBA career.John Duchneskie

    LeBoul James, the NBA champion

    North Philly-native Salim Weldon, co-owner of Whimsicle fruit pops, is confident James will live up to the name of “LeBoul,” another nickname that has appeared under scores of AI-generated social media posts.

    Some show James ordering at a Wawa, some have him astride dirt bikes and four-wheelers, and some show him standing outside of “papi stores” — a friendly term used by Black Philadelphians for corner stores often operated by Latin American men.

    The Philly word boul meaning boy, is a word James is already familiar with, thanks to his friend and North Philly-native Kevin Hart. The Sixer even said it in a recent Instagram post with the actor, who was giving his friend a crash course in Philly-isms while the two were golfing.

    “We’re going to help [James] with a Philly barber to make sure that he keeps his beard a certain way,” Weldon joked. “And as you can see, he and Kevin Hart are close, so he will help him get that Philly swag.”

    Quincy Harris, a Germantown-raised media personality and former host of The Q on Fox 29, said the early reactions are because of the championship dreams James helps Philadelphians imagine.

    USA’s #11 Joel Embiid (left) and #06 LeBron James react from the bench in the men’s semifinal basketball match between the USA and Serbia during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Aug. 8, 2024. (Photo by Aris Messinis / AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

    “He’s a top five player to ever play the game of basketball,” he said. For him, the energy James sparked is reminiscent of the Allen Iverson era in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

    Peterson doesn’t quite agree. For him, Iverson remains the “archetype of a Philadelphia athlete.” Plus, can LeBron James truly ever be LeBoul, if he doesn’t live in the Philadelphia region?

    “Philadelphia fans want to hold you close. They want to see you walking around and moving around in the community,” he said, while acknowledging that James’ signing has brought a new level of excitement to Philadelphia.

    “I think that energy is just going to be injected back into the city. It’s going to be a great time,” Harris said, adding that he won’t “cosign” the trending nicknames.

    But there’s one he thinks will resonate with Philadelphians the most.

    “Five-time NBA champion.”