When his agent, Rich Paul, revealed on a whiteboard the teams likeliest to sign him in the summer, LeBron James appeared to be choosing among five contenders after he entered free agency: the Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Denver Nuggets and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James, in something of a surprise, picked the 76ers. And through the (very) early part of this season, he appears to have chosen wisely.
Philadelphia is 8-1 after a win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. The 76ers have the most wins in the NBA entering Friday, and their high-powered starting five has jelled quickly to form an undeniable title contender.
The starting five
In addition to signing James, Philly traded for swingman Jaylen Brown in the offseason, forming a starting five of James, Brown, Tyrese Maxey, V.J. Edgecombe and Joel Embiid.
Those five players have combined for 36 All-Star selections, five MVP awards and five Finals MVP awards. So it’s perhaps unsurprising the group has been great together on the floor.
In 77 minutes together across five games, the Sixers’ starting five has outscored opponents by 15 points. Philadelphia’s opening quintet is dominating defensively, holding opponents to only 95.4 points per 100 possessions. (For context, the league’s best defense entering Thursday was holding opponents to 103 points per 100 possessions.)
“Our defense is going to be our identity,” James said Wednesday after the win over the Pistons. “We have a lot of scoring. We know that from individuals. We’re still figuring out that side of the floor out on the offensive side. Defensively, that’s where we are going to make our mark.”
James has meshed well with all of his co-stars so far. All two-man lineups featuring a combo of James plus one of Maxey, Brown, Embiid and Edgecombe have outscored opponents through the team’s first nine games.
James is clearly pacing himself
Playing on a roster loaded with talent, James has seemingly been happy to become one of the best role players in the NBA.
Through his first seven games, James is averaging 15.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists a night. His scoring average, field-goal attempts per game (13.1) and free-throw attempts (4.4) are all on pace to be career-low marks. While James hasn’t necessarily made up for the dip in efficiency — his 45.7% shooting from the field would be his lowest since his rookie season — his willingness to take a back seat has helped Maxey in particular.
The speedy guard is averaging 28.0 points on a career-best 48.6% shooting.
“It was a long offseason for me,” Maxey said this month. “I worked on my passing. I worked on my isolation scoring and my late-game scoring. I wanted to be able to come back with a move that I could get to late in games, because I knew we were going to need it. I knew we would need it, and I knew that I would be ready to do it.”
Said Brown: “Max has been leading the way, 100%. He’s been here. This is his team.”
Everyone has sacrificed to some degree, including Embiid, who admitted he was struggling adapting to his new role as his shot attempts diminish.
“My mindset is really on whenever I have the ball, make plays,” Embiid said. “Make the game easy for all these guys. Making the right play over and over, setting screens, get Tyrese as open as possible, Bron, all these guys.”
How does this compare to previous James teams?
Typically, when James joins a new team, it takes a little while for things to come together.
The 2010-11 Miami Heat, for example, started only 6-4 in their first 10 games. The team was only 9-8 after 17 games, when James famously bumped into coach Erik Spoelstra during the team’s eighth loss.
The 2014-15 Cleveland Cavaliers were worse, starting 5-5 when James returned home. The Cavs struggled until January, hovering around .500 until they embarked on a 12-game winning streak midseason.
The 2018-19 Los Angeles Lakers started the season 4-6 and eventually missed the playoffs after James sustained a groin injury late in the year. Much of that team was turned over the following offseason after the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis.
This year’s 76ers have a chance to go 9-1 if they win Friday. And history already bodes well for Philly, as the four previous James-led teams to start 7-1 all made the NBA Finals.
“It’s too early to be talking about the Finals and things of that nature on Nov. 4,” James said Wednesday night. “We got a good team. Guys vibe with one another, guys like each other, guys enjoy being around each other.”