LeBron James Is Already The Ultimate Teammate In Philly, Says He Is Coming To The Sixers To Help Embiid Finally Win A Championship
ARIS MESSINIS. Getty Images.LeBron's legacy is already set. If he wanted to step away from basketball today, he'd always be remembered as one of the greatest to ever play the game. Regardless if you love him or hate him, you can't deny the fact that he's on the Mount Rushmore of basketball. 4x Champion, 4x Finals MVP, 4x MVP, most all-time career points. He's won a championship with 3 different franchises. He's played alongside his son. LeBron James has done literally everything you could possibly do in this game, and then some.
So realistically, what's left to do? Why is he coming to the Sixers if he could just walk off into the sunset right now? He doesn't need these next couple of seasons to add to his career. He certainly doesn't need the couple million dollars he's going to make. Sure, becoming the first player to win a championship with 4 different teams would be something special, and getting title #5 puts him closer to Michael Jordan.
But it's not his own legacy he's looking to add to while he's here in Philly. Instead, he's looking to cement the legacy of the guys around him now who have earned it.
Joel Embiid has had years in this league where he's been the most dominant big man the game has ever seen. He's been the MVP of this league. He's been one of the major faces of the NBA for a decade now. But unfortunately the nature of the beast is that you can never find yourself in "goat" conversations unless you have a ring on your finger. Until Joel Embiid becomes an NBA champion, his career will never be able to stack up against guys like Shaq and Kareem and Jokic. If we were just going based on his game, then he's absolutely right there. But that's not how these things work. A ring gets you into the conversation, and then your game takes over from there.
LeBron knows how much Joel Embiid has meant to the city of Philadelphia the whole time he's been here. And I'm also sure LeBron knows how complicated the relationship is between Philly and Joel. He's one of the best athletes to come through this city, but it's hard to fully appreciate his greatness when he's never even played in a conference final. If the Sixers can win a championship with Joel Embiid, then his legacy is all-time in this city. MVP, countless All-Stars, and a title. If his career ends without a title, then he'll always be remembered for what could have been. The fact that LeBron is wiling to come to Philly for the end of his career to help Embiid complete that legacy says a lot about how much he thinks the big fella deserves it.