LeBron James remains the premier name in basketball. Even at 41 years of age, James demands nearly everyone’s attention, in and around the NBA, at all times.
By now, the world knows James, after lengthy deliberation, chose to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s officially with the team on a two-year $7.9 million deal. He’ll join a formidable starting-lineup of Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe.
Virtually everyone that’s every been associated with the game of basketball has had, and expressed, their opinion on “King James” choosing the 76ers. Some believe he’s chasing one more ring. Others believe it was the easiest option for the league’s all-time leading points scorer.
Bob Myers Provides Opinion on Why LeBron James Chose 76ers
Bob Myers, the former general manager of the Golden State Warriors who helped build four NBA championships, even more than a month after James’ decision, is still providing his opinion on the matter.
To be fair, Myers is currently the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, overseeing the 76ers. But during a recent appearance on the “Cousins With Tracy McGrady & Vince Carter” podcast, Myers made his impassioned opinion on the matter extremely clear.
“If you ever questioned the motivations of LeBron, he chose the hardest path I think,” Myers said.
Carter immediately interjected, “Hold on, Bob. Hold on, hold up, hold up. What do you mean the hardest… The hardest path to what?”
…But he also believes the lack of comfort and familiarity with Philadelphia also made it LeBron’s hardest path this offseason compared to Cleveland, Miami
Myers would elaborate on his thoughts, clearing up exactly what he means by “hardest path”.
“He chose the one, there’s only one reason, it’s to win. It wasn’t because I played there before, I grew up there, I want to play with my friends. It was because I want to win. So, I’m going to go where I want to go to give me the best chance to win,” Myers said.
This conversation turned into a healthy back-and-forth between Myers and Carter. Carter continued looking for clarification for exactly what Myers meant by “hardest path”.
“Yeah, but is that the hardest? The hardest road is staying (in Los Angeles) where he was…But, I’m not going to knock him because he’s going team to team trying to win a championship,” Carter said.
“The expectations are going to be different now, and he welcomed that by making the decision he made. So by hard, I guess that’s what I mean,” Myers said.
James’ Final Chapter Will Be Written in Philadelphia
James has signed a two-year contract with the 76ers, but that doesn’t guarantee he’ll play out the duration of the deal. His second-year is a player-option. And while he’s shown very little signs of slowing down, he’ll turn 42 this coming December.
Every time he steps on an NBA court, he extends multiple all-time records. This season, No. 24, will remain the most anyone has ever played in an NBA career. And, he’ll only be extending his lead on the all-time points scored list (43,440).
As it pertains to winning a championship, to Myers’ point, the 76ers currently hold the fourth-best odds to win the NBA championship this season (plus-1000). These odds are as per FanDuel SportsBook, and they trail only the Oklahoma City Thunder (plus-230), San Antonio Spurs (plus-280), and New York Knicks (plus-900).
Bob Myers Believes LeBron James Chose ‘Hardest Path’ By Signing With 76ers