We could very well be witnessing a LeBron James retirement tour. When James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, he inked a two-year deal. However, that second season is a small player option. It would be easy for James to decline it and call it a career.
So far, James has certainly left the door open for additional seasons. But seeing as though he'll end the year at age 42, he'll have a lot to think about regarding his future. Retirement certainly can't be ruled out.
When LeBron James came to Philly, I fully expected a no-nonsense approach. Almost villain-like, because why wouldn't he want to go out riding off into the sunset without a title? At first, it seemed like the situation was heading in that direction.
There were early reports that LeBron got on the former MVP Joel Embiid for being a little late to get on the practice court. Although James denied that happened, it was still sort of a positive look for LeBron. It told Sixers fans that he was all business and bringing a championship mentality that the team has missed throughout the Embiid era.
Since then, the mood has shifted. The Sixers are working through their third week of the regular season, and everything feels different. LeBron isn't as serious. He's borderline clowning around on the court. This isn't going how I expected. It's probably going better.
A healthy dose of good vibes
LeBron is leading the 76ers like the fun dad. He's sipping wine mid-game, a similar move that Mike Scott once pulled, which made him a fan favorite for years, despite being a streaky-shooting role player.
Along with his wine-sipping, James was dancing after a successful bucket, which inspired Tyrese Maxey to do the same just seconds after Bron's free-throw miss. All smiles across the court and throughout the arena. James continued a long trend of creating individual handshakes with each of his teammates, and now has the entire team doing one of Joel Embiid's most viral moves each time the big man is introduced at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The 76ers are almost unserious. Funny enough, that might make them even more dangerous. That same team that's clowning around is 7-1 to start the year. They are loose and just loving hoops.
Adversity will inevitably test this team at some point. When it does, we'll see how the mood shifts and evaluate from there. For the time being, the 76ers have passed up some old-man, military-like leadership approach for some good vibes. As you can tell, it's working.
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