The 76ers winning the LeBron James sweepstakes has seemingly catapulted the other teams into an apparent bout with an identity crisis. Case in point? Look no further than the Golden State Warriors, which were the other reported finalists for the superstar. Unfortunately for them, there seems to be another major factor that allowed Philly to get past Golden State, which they probably did not expect. That's the New York factor.
As explicated by NBA insider Marc Stein, it was actually New York's close proximity to Philadelphia and the fact that the team had a training facility in Camden, New Jersey, which ended up being advantages for the 76ers in getting James. Obviously, this was more than enough to overcome the presumed edge the Warriors enjoyed in the LeBron chase, which was the ability to maintain his and his family's base in Los Angeles if he went on to sign with the Dubs.
The New York factor helped the 76ers beat the Warriors for LeBron James
James ultimately chose the 76ers for their perceived strong chances at winning the championship next season, but people would be remiss to gloss over the off-the-court stuff that went into his decision to head to Philly.
Well, it was previously mentioned that James had long wanted to establish a strong presence in New York. In fact, the Knicks were even contacted by his camp before the defending champs did not reciprocate that interest, reinforcing the fact that the Big Apple was simply a preferred destination for LeBron for both basketball and non-basketball reasons.
Now, the 22-time All-Star can definitely achieve that while playing for the 76ers, whose turf is close to New York. James will reportedly consider living there, despite playing for Philly. That gives him a viable workaround to strengthen his influence in the Big Apple while suiting up for a title contender in his quest to win his fifth ring.
That would not have been feasible in San Francisco for very obvious reasons. Heck, their proximity to James' family home in Los Angeles probably was not even as compelling of a factor as believed, especially since LeBron could have simply opted to stay with the Lakers if he wanted to stay as close as possible to his family.
Fortunately, the 76ers had some unquestionable logistic advantages that allowed them to get in the race for LeBron, although their actual championship potential remains the biggest reason they won the bidding war in the end.
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