The Celtics Are Actually The Reason The 76ers Got LeBron James
· Yahoo Sports
The Celtics Are Actually The Reason The 76ers Got LeBron James originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Visit truewildgame.online for more information.
The Boston Celtics helped the Philadelphia 76ers land LeBron James in free agency.
In fact, if it wasn't for Boston, LeBron probably wouldn't be spending the 2026-27 NBA season in Philly.
How? The Jaylen Brown trade.
The Celtics traded Brown to the 76ers on July 1 for Paul George and draft picks.
It was a clear upgrade in the present for the Sixers, and it made them a real suitor for LeBron.
In The Athletic's all-encompassing report on James' decision, this is how they laid out the importance of the Brown deal:
"According to at least three sources, everything changed in Philadelphia when first-year president of basketball operations Mike Gansey pulled off the bombshell acquisition of Brown, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, from the Boston Celtics for Paul George and four future picks — two firsts and two seconds — on July 1, after James had already announced his decision to leave the Lakers. Before that trade, the 76ers, internally, considered themselves longshots for James. Afterward, though, they were all in."
MORE: Best Celtics Shooters | Best Celtics Trash Talkers | Best Celtics Defenders
It makes sense on a couple of levels from Philadelphia's perspective.
Psychologically, they felt they were really going for it once they pulled off what some thought was a lopsided deal for Brown.
Add in the fact that the team simply got better with Brown in the lineup as opposed to George, and they had to feel like adding another piece like LeBron could make them a title favorite.
Philadelphia will have to be healthy, but if they are, they'll be as formidable as anyone in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers sure look like a huge obstacle for the Celtics to go through.
And in some ways, Boston set the 76ers up for all of this. If the Brown trade never happens, Philly's roster probably looks very different right now.