There were rumors about both Miami and Cleveland. But in the end, somewhat surprisingly, LeBron James' choice fell on Philadelphia.
Since then, the basketball world has been in uproar. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro jokingly declared on X that July 24 would henceforth be known as LeBron James Day.
“Would have been so nice”
But not everyone shares Shapiro's excitement. SVT's basketball expert Nick Rajacic wrote on Facebook that he "hates it."
It's really sad. It could have been the perfect ending if he had gone home to Cleveland, it would have been so nice. Instead, it's like this and I'm very skeptical that it will be good, he tells TT.
How do you think he reasoned?
I think he looked at Miami and saw that they have no three-point shooting at all. Then I think he looked at Cleveland and thought that there's James Harden and Donovan Mitchell dribbling the ball, so it's not going to work. Then he chose Philadelphia, they have a lot of talent where he can sit out games without it affecting the team too much. He probably chose the team where he saw the greatest opportunity to win one last title.
“If we had played video games like that”
But Rajacic doesn't believe the choice of Philadelphia will give LeBron James his fifth title.
I've given up on that dream now. Everything that's good in Philadelphia is at the three-point line. Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe are great players. But they're all offensive players who want the ball all the time, just like LeBron wants to play, and no one is particularly good at sharing it. Then they have a threat under the basket in Joel Embiid, who is also extremely ball-dependent, and who is also never, ever healthy two weeks in a row, says Rajacic and continues:
If we had played video games, well, maybe they would have won. But in today's NBA, you have to have the depth and players who can play different roles. Philadelphia doesn't have that.
Nick Rajacic believes LeBron James is the greatest NBA player of all time, ahead of legend Michael Jordan. But he doesn't think there will be a happy ending to James' career in Philadelphia.
Unfortunately, I think we'll look back on this and say, why did he do that?
Born: December 30, 1984 (age 41).
Length: 206 centimeters.
Position: Small forward.
Team: Philadelphia
Former teams: Cleveland Cavaliers 2003–2010, Miami Heat 2010–2014, Cleveland 2014–2018, Los Angeles Lakers 2018–2026.
Merits: NBA's all-time leading scorer. NBA champion 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2020. NBA Most Valuable Player 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. NBA Finals MVP 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2020. NBA All-Star 22-time selection. Olympic gold medalist with the United States in 2008, 2012 and 2024.
Statistics for the 2025–2026 season: 20.9 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game and 7.2 assists per game.
