LeBron James is going from playing with one true NBA superstar on the Los Angeles Lakers in Luka Doncic to forming the league's next superteam alongside Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, and Tyrese Maxey. That's 36 All-Star appearances in one lineup.
Obviously, James wears the crown on that front, with his historic 22 nods, but the veteran superstar is at a stage in his career where he's playing more of a complementary role.
Over the past two seasons, James was tested in a way he's never been tested before. While navigating through his final days with the Los Angeles Lakers, the team acquired the next face of the franchise, telling James and the basketball world that Doncic would be his replacement. Some stars might not be able to handle that. Once they wear the No. 1 option badge, they remain in denial all the way until they are forced into retirement.
LeBron James? He knows he's still incredibly valuable. He doesn't feel insecure. Doncic confirmed in a recent Sports Illustrated interview that James simply let Doncic be Doncic. The approach to the game was "unbelievable" and "very respectable."
With LeBron carrying that type of mentality around, that will surely take a whack at the narrative that James is going to come to the Sixers and shake things up like he might've done in the past when he was still going into every season with MVP expectations.
Betting on sacrifice
One of the common themes throughout the 76ers media day was consistent discussion about sacrifice. James took the lead with that conversation, mentioning "sacrifice" five times. Part of sacrificing on a team is certainly allowing players to hit their stride, even if it comes at the cost of your own production.
Tyrese Maxey can be a one on any given night at this stage of his career. Jaylen Brown proved last year that he can be an MVP threat when he moves into the No. 1 spot. Joel Embiid has been an MVP and a scoring champion. James has accomplished all of those things, but came third in scoring on the Lakers last year. He trailed Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, yet there wasn't any fuss about it.
The Sixers haven't gotten this starting five on the floor for some real action just yet, so it's unclear how the superteam setup will ultimately work out. Based on James' recent experience with Doncic, the Sixers should feel more than confident that LeBron's talk about sacrifice is genuine.
Add us as a preferred source on Google