The most anticipated NBA media day of 2026 will be in Philadelphia, where LeBron James will finally be formally introduced as a member of the 76ers for the first time. James and Jaylen Brown are the two major additions by the Sixers, who pulled off two massive swings in Mike Gansey's first summer leading the front office. Those two will join Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe to form a star-studded starting lineup that is as formidable on paper as any in the league.
For James in particular, this week will be the first time he takes questions about his decision to join the Sixers over a return to the Cavaliers or Heat. On Friday, he got ahead of those questions by releasing a new episode of his Mind The Game podcast with Steve Nash, where he laid out three main reasons why he picked the Sixers -- playing with Maxey, the Brown trade and wanting to get Embiid his first championship. "First of all, my relationship with Tyrese Maxey goes beyond the court. … I just love everything about Tyrese Maxey," James said.
"Every day you get the same person, and that is very rare in sports and super rare in life. And I've always talked about how great of a person that he is, and obviously we know what he brings to the basketball court. 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, calling me. 'Yo, what we doing?
Come on down here, man, we could use you down here.' … There's a lot of times where I don't answer the phone. But he's just such a great person that I cannot not talk to him, one." "But I thought the [Brown] trade, two, was another piece that I don't think anybody saw coming," James said. "I think people saw that something was going to happen there, but I don't think anybody thought it would be Philly that would be part of that trade package.
I love the way he approaches the game too. Both sides of the floor, what he brings to the game, his insight on the game. Kind of misunderstood, and that's absolutely OK.
We're all individuals for a reason and everyone's always trying to put everyone in the same box, and I love what he stands for and what he brings to the table." "And one of the most important, to be honest, is the big fella," James said. "He's done everything in our league and the only thing he has not done is win a championship. And I want to try to help him get that first one.
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