Josh Hart had one question when Jalen Brunson opened the floor during his Saturday Night Live monologue: Was the $113 million his former Villanova teammate passed up to stay with the Knicks still up for grabs?
Hart and Mikal Bridges later joined Brunson onstage, reuniting Villanova’s championship trio in Studio 8H.
Brunson hosted Saturday’s season premiere three months after leading the Knicks to their first NBA championship since 1973. Hart and Bridges were seated in the audience with teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and O.G. Anunoby when Brunson invited questions.
Towns asked whether he could foul out of SNL. Anunoby reminded Brunson of a missed shot that Anunoby tipped in to win Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Bridges wanted Brunson to acknowledge his long arms, then lamented that he would never be able to fly.
Hart’s $113 million joke referred to the extension Brunson signed in 2024. The four-year, $156.5 million deal was roughly $113 million less than a five-year extension he could have sought by waiting until 2025. After answering Hart, Brunson asked why Hart had poked him during a Knicks celebration.
Video: First look at LeBron James in a Sixers uniform
Hart’s explanation was simple: “Because it was funny.”
The three former Wildcats won the 2016 national championship together. Brunson and Bridges added another Villanova title in 2018, after Hart had left for the NBA.
A decade after their first championship together, all three were starters on the Knicks’ title run.
Brunson opened the monologue with a promise about his hosting performance.
Former Villanova star and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson was the host of “Saturday Night Live” this past week.Rosalind O'Connor
“The first three quarters of the show are going to be god-awful,” he said. “The last sketch is going to be amazing.”
Basketball followed him into his sketches. In “Office MVP,” Brunson played a coworker who kept finding reasons for one more attempt to toss a wrapper into a trash can. “North High” put him on a school basketball team in a High School Musical parody.
The show found other ways to bring Brunson’s basketball life into the episode. In “Office MVP,” a meeting stalled when his character missed a shot into a trash can. He insisted there was still one second on an imaginary clock, then kept resetting it for another attempt.
When a coworker thought he had run out of crumpled wrappers, he produced a basket full of them. Eventually, he revealed that the man struggling with an office wastebasket was Brunson.
“North High” gave him a different opponent. Playing a transfer student in a High School Musical parody, Brunson joined a basketball team led by a student who expected to be the star. Brunson outplayed him on the court. When the student turned to singing, Brunson showed him up there, too, and won over his girlfriend.
The night’s final sketch, “Old Friend,” brought another Philadelphia basketball connection into view.
"Fun fact: there was a blower in the garbage can, making it literally impossible for Jalen to score until the final shot …
We had two sets of cue cards for the ending — one if he made it, and one if he missed. He miss at dress but hit the shot ON AIR … because Jalen Brunson is…
Brunson played himself in a locker room as Kenan Thompson approached him, claiming to be a coach from his childhood. Another stranger claimed to be his father. Brunson rejected that story with a joke about his real father’s bald head.
His father, Rick Brunson, is an assistant coach with the Knicks and a former Temple guard. He played for John Chaney alongside Aaron McKie and Eddie Jones and entered Temple’s athletics Hall of Fame in 2011. The Temple connection stayed beneath the sketch’s joke, just as the Villanova connection did during the monologue.
Thompson had appeared earlier in the show as Stephen A. Smith, delivering a lengthy apology for doubting Brunson when he signed with New York. Brunson cut him off before taking questions from his teammates.
Jalen Brunson, seen here battling with the Sixers’ Kelly Oubre, led the Knicks to the NBA title. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
He also looked ahead to returning to Madison Square Garden, joking that it was the spot where Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce had gotten married.
Brunson became the fifth NBA player to host SNL, following Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and LeBron James. James was the last active NBA player to host in 2007.
For Brunson, the television appearance came just before another opening night: The Knicks begin their title defense against the Sixers on Oct. 20 at Madison Square Garden.
Montgomery County officials are starting a new consumer protection collaboration and taking on cash-advance apps in one of its first cases.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners announced the effort Monday, saying that the solicitor’s office and district attorney’s office would work together to investigate issues that impact the finances, health, and well-being of residents.
“When companies engage in unlawful or deceptive conduct that harms our residents, we will use every available tool to hold them accountable,” Steele said in a statement.
“This is the first long-term partnership on consumer protection that we’re aware of,” Montgomery County Commissioner Neil K. Makhija said in an interview. He added that it is particularly important given continued economic uncertainty.
“People are struggling to cover everyday needs,” Makhija, a public interest attorney, said. “Some companies see that and they see an opportunity to make a profit.”
Montgomery County Commissioner Neil K. Makhija says digital lending apps have taken advantage of Pennsylvanians who are struggling to make ends meet.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Some digital lending apps are among those companies, according to Montgomery officials.
But Montgomery County officials say some apps continue to give out similar loans, disguised as interest-free cash advances.
On Monday, the county district attorney’s office filed two lawsuits against the apps MoneyLion and Dave, alleging that the companies provide short-term cash advances and then tack on fees, tips, and other charges so they effectively function as high-interest loans, violating Pennsylvania law.
Spokespeople for MoneyLion and Dave did not immediately return requests for comment.
More than a million Pennsylvanians have used these apps, Makhija said, and officials hope to learn through the lawsuits how many Montgomery County residents have been impacted. Suits such as these can result in financial settlements or orders to stop illegal practices, the commissioner said.
“The reason this is so powerful is that we are not bound by the fine print” that consumers often agree to when they sign up for these apps, Makhija said. “Consumers today unknowingly are waiving their rights to a jury trial … what we are able to do is take action on behalf of the Commonwealth by our district attorney.”
The county accounted for this effort in its 2026 budget for the district attorney’s office.
“These cases pay for themselves: You’re addressing harm and you’re able to recover funds to continue the work,” Makhija said. “This is not a cost sink for the county.”
Sorrentino Pasta & Provisions may have closed its Ambler restaurant and market last month, but owner Rich Sorrentino is not getting out of the pasta business. He is concentrating on the wholesale operation that had grown alongside the storefront while developing a new shop nearby.
Sorrentino’s business, which opened in 2021 on Butler Avenue near Ridge, combined a dining room, pasta workshop, and Italian specialty market in a narrow storefront next to Alice Bakery. You could walk in and buy fresh and dried pastas by the pound as well as focaccia, oils, vinegars, tinned fish, and cheeses from a small refrigerator. But insiders knew about the 15 restaurant seats under a blackboard in the front, where Sorrentino offered a changing menu of dishes such as pappardelle al cinghiale, casarecce with ’nduja, carbonara, and garganelli with pesto, pistachios, breadcrumbs, and arugula.
Rich Sorrentino, at his Ambler workroom, says he started pasta making years ago “as a kind of relief — something therapeutic.”William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
Wholesale pasta has been Sorrentino’s bread and butter for the last three years, especially after he acquired a small garage on a nearby side street, which he turned into a production facility. He supplies local restaurants and country clubs.
Sorrentino said the wholesale business offered greater potential than a restaurant — as well as the attraction of a Monday-through-Friday schedule.
“I can’t be in two places at once,” he said. “I weighed the options between the restaurant and the wholesale business and which one I wanted to keep going.”
Bags of Sorrentino’s dried fusilli and capanelle before they are boxed up and sent to stores. William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
Locally, pasta makers have moved in both directions as their businesses have grown. Scaramuzza’s Pasta Products closed its Clifton Heights walk-in store in 2016 to concentrate on wholesale before later restoring retail at a larger facility, while Settantatré expanded from a combined Milmont Park shop and production space into a larger Berwyn store with a separate gluten-free production facility and event space nearby.
For Sorrentino, the decision ended a five-year run for a business that grew out of his pasta-making hobby. “I come from a big Italian family,” he said. Before opening the shop, he was technical director for a large corporate chain. Given all the travel, “I found myself making pasta as a kind of relief — something therapeutic,” he said.
The hobby eventually took over a room adjoining his kitchen, and small gatherings grew into large dinner parties. “I’d always had the idea of opening a fresh pasta shop,” he said. “Going to Italy as much as I do, I’ve seen a lot of cool concepts over there, and I always thought, ‘Man, this would be cool to do in a town like Ambler.’” He acquired the Butler Avenue building during the pandemic and decided to take the chance. He recently sold the property.
Nick Pfeiffer seals a bag of pasta at Sorrentino in Ambler.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
Meanwhile, the wholesale operation continues, though Sorrentino says at 1,200 square feet, he is running out of room. With the closing of the restaurant kitchen, he cannot produce and package sauces for now.
Sorrentino’s line covers both dry and fresh pastas, as well as frozen ravioli and his top seller, potato gnocchi.
The company makes private-label ravioli and gnocchi for Weavers Way, the co-op. Sorrentino products are also sold at Corner Stoop in Philadelphia, Dave’s Backyard Farm in Huntingdon Valley, Tredici Market in Wayne, Sam’s Italian Market in Willow Grove, and Skippack Italian Market. The company alternates Saturdays between the Conshohocken and East Falls Farmers Markets and sets up at Horsham’s on Sundays.
Nick Pfeiffer (left), Nais Ryan, and Matthew Brunetto (right) work on mushroom ravioli at Sorrentino Pasta.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
Expanding retail availability is the next step, Sorrentino said. He is building out a small shop nearby; he’s not sure of the timeline.
“We’re only now slowly getting into the retail world,” he said. “We’ve purposefully been slow about pushing that because we were trying to focus on our restaurant clients. But it’s something we’re going to focus on, now that the store is closed.”
Forty one people in Philadelphia and surrounding areas were arrested in a sweeping operation conducted by the U.S. Marshals Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force this month, the agency said Monday.
The effort, dubbed “Operation Moving Day” targeted people wanted for violent felonies who were living in federally subsidized housing.
The initiative is part of a larger federal criminal enforcement campaign being carried out in cities across the country this year by the Inspector General’s Office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development with support from U.S. Marshals.
The Philadelphia-area operation led to the arrests of people wanted for felonies including arson, aggravated assault, armed robbery, crimes against children, and at least one shooting.
Robert Clark, a spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals’ Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force, said most of those arrested during the operation were living in private apartment units and had been receiving subsidized rental assistance through federal programs.
Arrests occurred in neighborhoods across the city, according to Clark, along with a handful of arrests occurred outside city limits and as far north as Lehigh County.
Among those arrested was a 31-year-old man wanted by Philadelphia police for his role in an early August shooting. The incident occurred on the 3300 block of North Smedley Street and left a woman hospitalized with a shoulder injury.
Marshals also arrested a 23-year-old employee of Bregy Elementary School in South Philadelphia who had been charged with indecent assault and unlawful contact with a minor in late August, Clark said.
The operation marked the first time U.S. Marshals in Eastern Pennsylvania took part in a joint law enforcement effort backed by HUD, he said.
This summer, U.S. Marshals task forces in other major cities have aided HUD in arresting fugitives living in federally subsidized housing, such as Kansas City, Mo., Memphis, Minneapolis, and most recently in New York and New Jersey.
The arrests were part of a national operation called ‘Operation Clean House.” The initiative launched after the success of an operation in Columbus, Ohio last winter that led to the arrests of more than 50 people with outstanding felony warrants, Clark said.
A spokesperson for HUD did not immediately return a request for comment.
In February, after 16 people were arrested in a similar operation in Minneapolis, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Acting Inspector General Brian D. Harrison said the operation had successfully targeted “dangerous fugitives” living in federally subsidized housing.
“Defeating fraud in housing remains a top priority for HUD OIG,” Garrison said in a statement. “HUD housing is America’s housing serving millions of deserving Americans, and we are unwavering in our commitment to ensuring accountability throughout HUD’s programs.”
“The director of all emergency services, all 911, just assaulted me and made me feel the worst I had ever felt in my life,” the woman said at the start of Boyce’s trial on charges of indecent assault and harassment involving two of his former employees.
“I didn’t know who to trust at that point,” she said, adding that she later told Boyce, then the head of county’s department Department of Emergency Services, his behavior had made her feel disgusting and “like a piece of meat.”
Boyce was fired in May 2024, not long after the woman filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in which she also said he grabbed her cheeks and attempted to pull her in for a kiss.
Criminal charges followed soon after that incident, along with allegations that Boyce had assaulted and harassed another female employee, who told investigators that Boyce showed her pictures of his penis, pulled up her skirt, and asked her if she enjoyed a particular sex act.
In court Monday, Deputy Attorney General Madelyn Abry told jurors Boyce was confident that because of his position of authority, no one would find out about his actions.
“What she thought she was getting was a job that would help her,” Abry said of the first victim. “But what she got was a job that was too good to be true.”
Boyce’s attorney, Andrew Edelberg, denied those assertions, telling jurors “there is not a single piece of corroborating evidence anywhere” supporting the charges against him.
No one else witnessed the alleged assaults, he said, and the two women waited several months before reporting them to police.
He described Boyce as a 40-year public servant, starting as an Upper Darby firefighter who “ran into burning buildings to save children.”
The allegations, he said, came at a time when Democrats had come to power in the longtime GOP stronghold of Delaware County, and Boyce, a Republican, was “low-hanging fruit” for them to target.
Edelberg also suggested that former District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, who, at the time the women came forward was running for attorney general saw the case as a way to boost his campaign. Stollsteimer lost his bid for that office and is now a county judge.
“This case is about power, politics, and punishment, because of an administration change, and because someone was running for office and couldn’t look weak on TV,” he said. “And what else? Money, money, money.”
Both women have filed civil suits against Boyce and the county, and Edelberg said they were motivated, in part, by potential monetary settlements.
Boyce’s trial is expected to last through Friday before Delaware County Court Judge Stephanie Klein.
A proposed Super Wawa on the Voorhees-Berlin border protested by residents and rejected by the Voorhees planning board will likely be approved in two weeks.
Developer NIKI-J&J Voorhees Cooper Partners LLC sued after the planning board last September did not approve its plan for a Wawa between Route 73 northbound and Cooper Road located in both Voorhees and Berlin Township.
In August, the board and the developer agreed to a settlement in state Superior Court in Camden that calls for the planning board to reconsider based on a proposal from NIKI-J&J to make improvements to Cooper Road to address traffic concerns.
Reconsideration of the developer’s preliminary and final major site plan is scheduled for the Oct. 14 board meeting. The Berlin Township planning/zoning board approved the Wawa on Aug. 18.
Under the plan, a 5,915-square-foot Wawa store with 12 gasoline-fueling stations would be built on 4.95 acres. Driveways would be on Route 73 and Cooper Road. The property is about a quarter mile south of the intersection of Cooper Road and Route 73.
Residents testifying at a Voorhees board hearing last September expressed concerns over traffic from the planned Cooper Road driveway.
“It’s a disaster … the traffic backs up all the way to the entrance of Forrest Hills Drive,” resident Harry Garabedian, who lives on Forrest Hills Drive, told the board of existing traffic conditions on Cooper Road. “There’s nothing that Wawa is going to do that’s going to alleviate that; it’s only going to add to the burden.”
Board member Jason Ravitz, also a member of the Voorhees Township Committee and deputy mayor, said at the hearing: “This road already backs up during rush hour. … This is going to be a real issue in the operation.”
70and73.com is a hyperlocal news site focused on South Jersey, including the communities of Cherry Hill, Evesham, Mount Laurel, Voorhees, Medford, Medford Lakes, and Moorestown.
The New York Giants have acquired quarterback J.J. McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings for a 2027 fifth-round pick.
The Vikings announced the trade Monday pending McCarthy passing a physical.
The Giants made the aggressive move days after Jaxson Dart had surgery on his left knee that will sideline him for at least the rest of the regular season.
J.J. McCarthy was drafted in the first round of the 2024 draft by Minnesota.Bailey Hillesheim
Jameis Winston started and beat Tennessee on Sunday, despite not scoring a touchdown and having just 238 yards of offense. Coach John Harbaugh said afterward that Winston would get the nod again this Sunday against Arizona.
It’s unclear what New York’s QB situation will be moving forward after adding McCarthy, the 10th pick in the 2024 draft who lost the starting job in Minnesota to Kyler Murray and fell behind Carson Wentz on the depth chart.
I was angry when I learned that a grand jury found no cause for criminal charges in the death of Nolan Wells, a Black teenager who died after a July 4 boat trip to an island in Mississippi with a group of white friends.
The facts surrounding the case were strange from the time Wells went missing. His friends said the 18-year-old wanted to stay on Horn Island to talk to a girl, so they left without him, and Wells left his phone on the boat. Days later, when Wells’ body was found floating in the waters off the island, Jackson County sheriff officials declared that no foul play was suspected.
Then, just days after the grand jury concluded Wells’ death was “consistent with drowning,” Wells’ family released details from the official autopsy report from the Mississippi medical examiner. The autopsy indicated that there was no water in the lungs, stomach, or throat of Wells, which begs the question: How does one drown without ingesting water?
That troubling question, along with a history that includes countless lynchings, the murder of Emmett Till, and the murder of voting rights activist Medgar Evers, demands a deeper investigation. Yet I know, in that secret place where my ancestral memory lives, that the investigation might never take place.
Wells’ family did all they could to find the truth. They hired attorney Benjamin Crump, sued social media companies for cell phone records, and hired an independent pathologist to conduct a second autopsy after the Mississippi medical examiner performed the initial postmortem. Wells’ friends were mostly silent, but the internet was not. Observers retreated to their familiar corners — left and right, progressive and conservative, bigoted and anti-racist. Our opinions of the case tended to be shaped by our long-held views and lived experience.
Perhaps that’s why, when Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath promised to conduct a fair and thorough investigation, I was skeptical. Then, when she announced that she would convene a grand jury, I was hopeless.
Because grand juries operate in secret and only view the evidence presented to them by the prosecutor, the outcome is heavily influenced by the prosecutor. I believe that’s why we don’t see criminal charges in cases like the tragic death of Nolan Wells.
Just as my ancestral memory calls out to me and screams for racial justice, the history of Mississippi calls out to the current power structure and demands white supremacy.
It’s why the district attorney could release a redacted grand jury report, never share all the evidence, and scold the public for questioning whether race played a role in Wells’ death.
“What I cannot accept, what I cannot ignore, is that false narratives that Nolan’s death was somehow racially motivated, and that this is a case of another young Black man denied justice by a racist, corrupt system, were perpetuated and allowed to spread,” McIlrath said in a video explaining the grand jury’s decision. “There is not a shred of evidence to support these narratives.”
Perhaps the DA can’t accept what she framed as false narratives, but how can we know they’re false? The grand jury operated in secret, then released a report with some of the details blacked out. There was no preliminary hearing, no public airing of evidence, and no real attempt to answer the family’s ongoing questions about what happened to their son.
There is only one thing that I know to be true in the death of Nolan Wells, and his mother, Christine Wonsley, gave voice to it in the wake of the grand jury’s findings.
“Last night was a reminder that our son’s life does not matter to those who hold positions that are supposed to serve and protect the public,” Wonsley said.
It breaks my heart that she’s right.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this column misstated the location of the island that had been visited by Nolan Wells; it was Horn Island. It also incorrectly noted that Wells’ organs were removed before his body was released to his family; the organs were included with the rest of his remains.
Lenora D. Wolfgang, 91, of Philadelphia, French professor emeritus at Lehigh University, literary researcher, author, teacher, mentor, and artist, died Thursday, May 14, of heart failure at her home near the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Professor Wolfgang, or, as many of her Lehigh students and colleagues called her, Madame Wolfgang, planned to study art in Paris after high school and live as a painter. But, she told her family, she became so enthralled by the French language at Philadelphia High School for Girls that she curbed her art aspirations, earned three degrees in French at the University of Pennsylvania, and taught French and French literature at Lehigh for 26 years.
Inspired by professors at Penn, she became an expert in medieval French language and literature, and her doctoral dissertation and first book were an analysis of an 800-verse prologue to a 13th-century French poem. She studied in France on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1956 and ’57, and in Spain on a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies in 1978.
She wrote two books on French poetry, served research fellowships with the National Endowment for the Humanities in the 1980s and ’90s, and earned a grant from the American Philosophical Society in 1981 to transcribe manuscripts at the National Library in Paris. In 1990, reviewers at Penn’s French Forum journal said her second book, also on 13th-century French poetry, “provides the modern scholar with a standard text and thorough apparatus that will serve current and future generations well.”
This photo and story about Professor Wolfgang appeared in the Morning Call of Allentown in 1984.Newspapers.com
She belonged to many academic language and literature organizations, and was a student adviser and faculty committee member at Lehigh. In tributes, former colleagues called her “a true mentor” and “a real mensch.” One said: “It was clear that I had an ally in Lenora and that she wanted me to succeed.”
A former student said she was “a good friend and sounding board” in a 2025 interview with the Lehigh alumni relations department. “She was always ready to help, share her knowledge,” a former colleague said, “and always did it with tact and unselfishness.”
Professor Wolfgang earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and a doctorate in French at Penn. She taught French classes at Temple and Rutgers Universities, Penn, and high schools in Philadelphia before joining Lehigh’s Department of Modern Languages and Literature in 1980.
She commuted three hours round trip to Lehigh, in Bethlehem, Pa., from West Philadelphia three days a week and was promoted from assistant professor to associate professor in 1986, then to full professor in 1989. She retired from Lehigh in 2006.
Professor Wolfgang (center) traveled the world and enjoyed hosting dinner parties with family, friends, and academic colleagues. Courtesy of the family
After Lehigh, Professor Wolfgang taught continuing education classes about French playwright Molière and other topics to adults at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Temple. After the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown ended, she returned to the institute briefly as a student.
Professor Wolfgang was adept at painting as a girl in West Philadelphia and won several art competitions, and later showed her photography at Penn’s Faculty Club. “She was a natural talent,” her family said in a tribute.
Lenora Divida Poden was born Sept. 25, 1934, in Philadelphia. Her parents emigrated from Poland and Romania, and her mother leftthe family when Professor Wolfgang was in junior high school.
She and her father had to hide their Jewish heritage and alter their last name to minimize antisemitic attacks. “Yet Lenora overcame these challenges,” her family said, “excelled academically, and rose to the top of her academic field.”
Professor Wolfgang married her first husband, Marvin Wolfgang (above), in 1957, and her second husband, Leon Salganicoff (below), in 2010.Courtesy of the family
An exceptional student, she was valedictorian of both her 1952 senior high school class at Girls’ High and her 1956 senior undergraduate class at Penn’s College for Women. She married Marvin Wolfgang, a professor at Penn, in 1957, and they had daughters Karen and Nina, and lived in University City.
In 1977, The Inquirer featured their house in a photo spread about its French-inspired Gothic style of architecture. Professor Wolfgang said: “Perhaps that is one reason I feel so very much at home.”
After her husband died in 1998, she married Leon Salganicoff, a professor emeritus at Temple, in 2010. He died in 2011.
Professor Wolfgang was an avid reader. She traveled the world, listened to classical music, and enjoyed hosting dinner parties with friends and academic colleagues.
Professor Wolfgang (left) doted on her family and sent personalized birthday cards. Courtesy of the family
She almost went to law school in the 1970s before gaining her full-time teaching position at Lehigh. She doted on her family, sent personalized birthday cards, and kept in touch with teachers, colleagues, former students, and friends even after they parted.
“She was brilliant,” a longtime friend said in a tribute, “and she was fun.” Her family said: “Everyone loved her.”
In addition to her daughters, Professor Wolfgang is survived by two grandsons, a great-grandson, and other relatives. A brother died earlier.
A private celebration of her life was held earlier.
The Sixers’ first preseason game is Oct. 5 against the New York Knicks at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Philly will kick off the regular season Oct. 20 against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
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// Timestamp 09/28/26 4:43pm
LeBron James’ goal in Philly is clear: ‘I didn’t leave my family to lose in the second round’
LeBron James donned a Sixers jersey for the first time Monday. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
LeBron James grabbed and glanced at the name tag perched on a table, then quipped, “You guys know who I am, right?”
Those assembled inside the 76ers’ practice facility did, of course. James, one of the NBA’s all-time greats and a mainstream international celebrity, generally commands such hubbub. But the blue No. 23 jersey that James wore Monday amped that attention up even more. New teammate Tyrese Maxey even called seeing his friend and summer workout buddy’s new professional attire “really just weird.”
In James’ long-anticipated first day inside these walls — and first time speaking publicly since he chose the Sixers in a stunning free-agency move in July — the future Hall of Famer touched on needing to learn new streets and new people. The Northeast Ohio native mentioned getting reacclimated to weather in this part of the country, on the tail end of the weekend’s nor’easter storm. James acknowledged the outside noise surrounding the Sixers will be “doubled and tripped and quadrupled now that I’m here.”
Yet James reemphasized that his goal, in perhaps his last destination in a storied NBA career, is to seize the Sixers’ newfound super team status. The four-time champion hopes to provide the “blueprint” for the “collective sacrifice” and consistent work habits required to reach the NBA mountaintop, a feat the Sixers have not accomplished in more than four decades.
“Everyone wants, like, instant oatmeal,” James said at the Sixers’ media day ahead of the start of training camp. “You just put the oatmeal in the bowl, you put water in it, throw it in the microwave, and in a minute-and-a-half, you’ve got something to eat. You’re ready to go.
“If you want to do something special, it takes time. And it takes, every single day, doing things that you may not want to do. Because it’s the same thing, over and over and over and over and over, repetition after repetition after repetition. …
“That is the best way to expedite being great: You have to fall in love with doing things [that are] uncomfortable. And if we can do that, we can be a great team. If we don’t do that, then we’ll be like, ‘Oh, man, that was a great team on paper and we had a lot of great talent, and we lost in the second round.’”
Joel Embiid looks light, sounds optimistic about his new teammates and Sixers’ chances
Joel Embiid poses for a portrait during Sixers media day Monday. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
At the end of last season, Joel Embiid was optimistic about what a summer without a major injury could do for the Sixers heading into next year.
So, what did he spend his summer doing?
“Nothing,” he said with a smirk. “Gained a lot of weight.”
Embiid looked up toward the ceiling and debated whether he wanted to keep trolling when asked for further clarification about his summer.
“I feel good,” Embiid said Monday. “I won’t get into all the details of what I did, but I felt like I did the right things to put myself and the team in a position to succeed.”
Contrary to his jokes, he looked visibly lighter and said he wants to play “as much as possible” this season after struggling with injuries on and off through his entire NBA career. He said his knee issues were “behind him.”
“Jo is one of the most talented guys we have in the world,” LeBron James said. “For him, it’s just about health.”
LeBron James at media day at the Sixers Training Complex in Camden, N.J. Monday.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer(Left to Right) Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey during a photo session. Jessica Griffin / Staff PhotographerAdem Bona with Franklin during Sixers media day. Jessica Griffin / Staff PhotographerLeBron James during an interview at Sixers media day. Jessica Griffin / Staff PhotographerTyrese Maxey poses during Sixers media day.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
// Timestamp 09/28/26 2:52pm
LeBron focused on ‘living in the moment’
Video: LeBron James is focused on ‘living in the moment’ with the Sixers
LeBron James ultimately picked Philly, but he was close to joining the Knicks. Gabriela Carroll /
During LeBron James’ free-agency process, his agent, Klutch CEO Rich Paul, hinted that the hall of famer would’ve seriously considered joining the New York Knicks if they didn’t win the 2026 NBA title.
“I had visions of playing in [Madison Square] Garden and finishing my career in the Garden,” James told ESPN. “One of the best places I’ve ever played. I think it’s the No. 1 arena in the world, as far as for a basketball player. But after they beat San Antonio, I was like, ‘Hey, I can’t.’ I couldn’t do it.”
So that’s one big question answered. Another that has percolated since James joined the Sixers is where he plans to live. There were rumors that he would live in New York City and commute to Philly and even discussions about him taking a helicopter to practices and games.
Asked where he will keep a residence, James didn’t commit to one city.
During Jaylen Brown’s first press conference in Philadelphia in July, he mentioned the Sixers’ group chat was already up and active as the new teammates got to know one another. VJ Edgecombe wanted to make sure everyone knew it was his idea.
“You know who really initiated the group chat? I did,” Edgecombe said.
When the Sixers traded for Jaylen Brown, Edgecombe told Tyrese Maxey that the two of them, plus Brown and Joel Embiid, should be in a group chat together.
“Then LeBron came, and obviously I don’t got LeBron James’ number,” Edgecombe said. “I can’t say, ‘go add Bron to the group chat?’ Besides, even if I had his number, why would I randomly add LeBron to a group chat? You get what I’m saying? So I told Tyrese to do it.”
Maxey, of course, has a close relationship with James, and played a key role in recruiting him to Philadelphia. The two frequently train together in LA over the summer.
“‘Rese did it, but it was my idea,” Edgecombe said. “Anyone who tells you it was their idea, they’re lying.”
VJ Edgecombe was getting a pedicure during the Jaylen Brown trade
VJ Edgecombe was getting a pedicure when he heard about the Jaylen Brown trade. "He don't answer the phone when I call, but I've got to get there. Sometimes you've got to earn the privilege," Edgecombe joked about his relationship with Brown.
When Jaylen Brown threw a goodbye “block party” in Boston this summer, the mayor and other elected officials came out to thank Brown for his service to the community.
When he came to the Sixers in a surprise trade this summer, he intentionally held his press conference at a Boys and Girls Club in Philadelphia, a signal of his intent to become active in the community, something that has been a passion for Brown throughout his career and something he touched in his comments at media day.
“What I value is the human connection, to be able to bring people together, uplift your community, and inspire people,” Brown said. “What I always preach is athletes are more than line items or stats on a sheet. I preach the human connection, how you uplift the community and bring people together. … I think we’re getting away from that.”
His media day comments were a mix of questions about on- and off-the-court activities this summer. When asked a question that touched on who might be the “alpha” of the Sixers, or if that even mattered on a team like this, Brown just responded, “Next question.”
In other answers, he emphasized the importance of defense while saying he wasn’t sure if his championship experience in Boston would carry over to Philadelphia.
“I’m not so sure if that’s true. It’s a new group,” Brown said. “I’m approaching this with an empty slate. Coming in every single day and trying to maximize every opportunity. Not taking anything for granted. I don’t have, I wouldn’t say expectations. You just got to come in and get ready to work. Create a winning environment and see where that takes you. I’m not sure if things in the past will help you. They may.”
Tyrese Maxey’s recruitment of LeBron James started years ago.
Maxey spent time in the gym with James prior to his rookie season and admitted that he shot a text to James a few years ago even though it was clear the hall of famer was set to return to the Lakers in free agency. Maxey joked that he knew it was a long shot but still asked James if he was interested in “coming back to the Northeast.”
Those moments paid off this summer. When the Sixers added Jaylen Brown and James made it clear he wouldn’t return to Los Angeles, things turned a bit more serious. Those conversations took a different shape and happened more often, according to James, who said he didn’t have just one conversation about Philly with Maxey.
James was clear that his relationship with Maxey played a pivotal role in his decision to join the Sixers. So did the presence of Brown and conversations with Joel Embiid, a former Team USA teammate of James who joked at media day that they didn’t speak this summer.
“Our relationship, when I broke a lot of the teams and franchises down I could possibly play for, he was one of the main deciding factors.”
Maxey’s role in adding James was lauded all summer. Yet he was still surprised it happened.
“I see him in the summertime every year,” Maxey said, “but to see him here in Camden, New Jersey, in the facility with a Sixers jersey on, it’s a cool experience.”
After hearing James speak, Maxey’s part in making that happen can’t be overstated.
Kidding or not, that answer was in line with a summer in which Embiid said he purposefully maintained a low profile and worked on his body. Continuing his trend of potentially trolling answers, Embiid said he “gained” a lot of weight, even as he looks noticeably trimmer.
“Just want to stay out of the way, focus on what I need to be focused on, which is basketball,” Embiid said. “And I got my family, and especially since I became a father and got married, just be me. Stay out of the way, enjoy my family, and take care of what I need to be taking care of on a daily basis, that’s what I did this summer.”
Embiid is healthy coming into the season, and his health will be a constant point of conversation throughout the season if the Sixers are going to be true title contenders. He mentioned the team and he “got a plan and we gonna execute it.”
When asked about adding Jaylen Brown, Embiid said: “I was excited because you’re getting a guy — First Team All-NBA. The job he did, especially when [Jayson Tatum] was hurt, was huge. Obviously we played against him, but what he brings on the defensive, offensive end … to be able to add that, combining that with everything he does on and off the court, I think he’s going to be good for the city of Philadelphia.”
LeBron: Tyrese Maxey was ‘one of the main deciding factors’ in coming to Philly
LeBron James speaks to reporters at Sixers media day Monday.Ariel Simpson / staff
When LeBron James was choosing among what he said was five teams in free agency, a primary factor in his decision to choose was his relationship with guard Tyrese Maxey.
The two have worked out together and became close through their association with James’ agency, Klutch Sports.
“Great relationship with Tyrese and we talked a lot,” James said. “I picked his brain a lot about not only where he sees his career going, where he sees the franchise going and how much he believes in the franchise and if I were to come here, how would I fit in, would it be a plus or a negative.”
James mentioned that it wasn’t just one conversation he had with Maxey about where he fits on the team and in the locker room, and in terms of his personality.
“I was just asking all the questions I could ask him and it wasn’t just one conversation,” James said. “… When I broke all the teams down that I could possibly play for, he was one of the main deciding factors.”
LeBron on Philly fans: "We respect you, but we hate you. I love that. I thrive in that… We're going to be on the same side now. I need a little hate, so I hope we get a few people who aren't real Philly fans so I can get that tension."
LeBron on Philly fans: "They know sports, they know ball, if you're not doing what you're supposed to do, they're going to let you hear it. They're going to hold you accountable."
He realizes that by coming to Philadelphia and joining a roster as talent-rich as the Sixers, there’s going to be a lot of “noise.”
And that was going to be “doubled, tripled and quadrupled” with him in town. So when the team goes through predictable tough stretches of the season, he’s ready to deal with that attention. But as James stated in his opening news conference, “the noise is just the noise.”
Among the things James said that has impressed him so far is that “everybody is on the same page.” That he thinks the team will be able to have the kind of communication needed to bring together a team that hasn’t played together previously.
When asked how his game may fit in with this team, James wasn’t shy.
“The luxury of my game is I can do everything. Literally, I can do everything.”
Howdy from Sixers media day, where the parking lot at the practice facility was more crowded than I’ve ever seen it more than an hour before press conferences begin. pic.twitter.com/DRb5Rgm5ob
Sixers media day to feature LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, and more
The Sixers will hold their annual media day Monday morning at 11 a.m., which has just a bit more juice this year thanks to the addition of LeBron James.
Monday will also be the first time Philly fans hear from Jaylen Brown, who the team landed in an offseason trade with the Boston Celtics. And Joel Embiid will speak to reporters for the first time since his team has been transformed into a top Eastern Conference contender.
Bloom Energy patch on a Sixers jerseyCourtesy of the 76ers
The Sixers announced a new jersey patch partnership with Bloom Energy.
In a release, the Sixers said the deal will be “one of the most comprehensive and impactful patch partnership deals in the NBA.” One of Bloom Energy’s largest manufacturing hubs is located in Newark, Del., and as part of the partnership, the company will sponsor the Delaware Blue Coats’ jerseys.
The Sixers partnered with Crypto.com for six seasons beginning in 2021. No terms were ever officially announced, but reports at the time suggested the deal ran for six years, which would bring the deal to the end of 2026-27.
The Sixers also announced their full slate of jerseys, which included the return of their black uniforms and a new look with stars and the word “Sixers” in small print across the top of the chest.
the Sixers unveil their new jersey patch partner Bloom Energy and their slate of 2026-27 jerseys: pic.twitter.com/7zmynKyf1S
LeBron’s move to Philly caused some sticker shock for Sixers fans seeking tickets
Sixers fans shown during a playoff game in May at Xfinity Mobile ArenaMonica Herndon / Staff Photographer
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 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).
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.
LeBron James (left) said his relationship with Tyrese Maxey is much bigger than basketball.Chris Szagola / AP
LeBron James got his first taste of Philadelphia in his senior year of high school when he played at the Palestra.
James spoke about his decision to join Philadelphia on the first episode of season four of his Mind the Game podcast with Hall of Famer Steve Nash released on Friday, including a big recruiting role played by Tyrese Maxey.
“When I became a free agent and we decided to let the Lakers know that I wouldn’t be returning, he was one of the first people that was on my line,” James said. “Calling me, ‘Yo, what we doing? Yo, what’s up OG? Come on down here, we could use you down here.’”
James said he and Maxey have a relationship that extends beyond the basketball court, which played a big role in his decision to join the Sixers. Maxey even used to play video games with James’ sons, Bronny and Bryce, when he was 19.
“I just love everything about Tyrese Maxey,” James said. “Every day you get the same person, and that is very rare in sports and obviously super rare in life. And obviously we know what he brings to the basketball court.”
The Sixers’ trade for Jaylen Brown also caught James’ attention, but the final piece for James was Joel Embiid, who he said was “one of the most important” parts of his decision.
“He’s done everything in our league, and the only thing he has not done is win a championship,” James said. “I want to try to help him get that first one. He has the city on his back. I hope I can be that final little piece that can help him get over the hump.”
