Breaking Down How James Should Help Sixers Most, Key On-court Questions

Breaking down how James should help Sixers most, key on-court questions  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers’ projected starting forwards are now both former NBA Finals MVPs. 

Jaylen Brown earned the award in 2024. LeBron James has four on his résumé. With James making the enormous decision to join the Sixers, here’s an initial look at how he should upgrade the team and key on-court questions:

Where James should help most 

The Sixers’ full-strength starters will surely be Tyrese Maxey, VJ, Edgecombe, Brown, James and Joel Embiid. That’s a powerful unit on paper. And it doesn’t hurt that, at least to open games, it appears obvious which position everyone should play.

James’ passing remains a special skill at 41 years old. According to Cleaning the Glass, his 1.16 assist-to-usage ratio last season was first among NBA forwards. The Sixers will welcome James’ abilities to feed shooters and cutters, manipulate defenses and create easy points for whoever happens to be open. None of the Sixers’ other stars could be described as a fantastic passer. In prior years, opponents have recognized that blitzing Maxey and double teaming Embiid on post-ups is often worthwhile. James is extraordinarily equipped to punish such schemes. 

Health permitting — always a notable caveat with the Sixers — the team seems capable of much-improved offensive efficiency. On top of the passing excellence, James is nothing close to a non-scorer these days. He tallied 20.9 points per game last season, kept drawing a good number of free throws (5.3 per contest), and sported a strong 59.4 true shooting percentage. With Brown also on board, the Sixers look destined to be among the NBA’s elites at drawing free throws, scoring in isolation, and scoring in general. Another season of middling play on both sides of the ball would be surprising. 

“We’ve got to find an identity,” Bob Myers, president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, said on June 8. “We just don’t have one. That may be a harsh thing to say, but look at the numbers. We were not elite offensively or defensively. If you’re going to win at the highest level, you’ve got to be great at something.”

As was the case with the Brown deal, star insurance matters in Philadelphia. Embiid has an optimistic outlook on his health, but the 32-year-old big man has played under 40 games in three consecutive seasons. Maxey averaged at least 37.5 minutes in all of those years. As Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey noted on draft night, the Sixers wouldn’t mind lightening Maxey’s load a tad. James shouldn’t be relied upon to log massive minutes, but it’s fair enough to broadly consider another star a positive. In the event that Embiid, Maxey or Brown are sidelined, James should be quite comfortable assuming a larger role. 

The impact won’t be tangible, but James’ basketball wisdom will be a big deal for the Sixers’ youngsters. VJ Edgecombe had no hesitation about asking anyone in the building questions from the start of his rookie season. James should have many useful answers. 

“He had a hell of a rookie season, man,” Maxey said of Edgecombe at his May exit interview. “Not just a rookie season, a hell of a season. A lot of guys would wish they had a season like him. So the sky is the limit. The future’s bright. … You don’t have to push his buttons much. He works too hard and he wants it too much.” 

While James is no longer the sort of defender who should be asked to expend energy guarding stars, he’ll enhance the Sixers’ overall versatility. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse’s options should expand with James’ unique blend of size and skill. Perhaps James can serve as a pure point guard on occasion when Maxey sits. In Embiid-less stints, it might be a decent idea to play the 6-foot-9, 250-pound James at center here and there. 

Valid questions about Sixers with James

James will turn 42 years old on Dec. 30. He’s the ultimate outlier, but you never know when his basketball aging process might become a bit more normal. We’ll see whether he can keep avoiding the typical trajectory of fading athleticism and nagging injuries.

The Sixers’ bench is not full of proven players. Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons are the only second-unit Sixers who have truly established themselves as full-time NBA rotation players for multiple years. Everyone else is 24 years old or younger. 

James had a subpar outside shooting season last year, going 31.7 percent from three-point range on 4.1 attempts per game. Brown made 34.7 percent of his threes. Both players will fire open looks and can get hot. Still, the Sixers may very well stay below average in the long-distance department. They ranked 23rd last year in three-point frequency and 23rd in three-point percentage.

What’s the Sixers’ path to defensive success? As usual, we imagine they’ll plan to mainly play drop pick-and-roll coverage with Embiid and be more of a scrambling, turnover-forcing team when he’s out. Maxey’s enjoyed the freedom to hunt for steals under Nurse and nabbed a career-best 1.9 per game last year (fifth in the league). Edgecombe loves to defend and has stellar athletic tools. James should boost the Sixers’ team size, defensive reboundingand intelligence. Wade’s shown he can handle high-level scorers. All of that said, the Sixers are not a team stuffed with stoppers and they’ll have to tinker throughout the season. 

Along with the game-to-game details, Nurse will need to help his team figure out an optimal pace and rhythm. (For what it’s worth, he’s a musically inclined coach and we imagine he’ll embrace that challenge.) Embiid is at his best in half-court offense and regularly trails the play in transition. Meanwhile, Maxey was second, James third and Brown fourth in the NBA last season in transition points per game. Edgecombe is also a dangerous, explosive player in the open floor.

The Sixers possess immense transition talent and no shortage of players who can nail tough shots in the half court. Everything won’t mesh perfectly overnight, though.