Legendary Auburn Tigers big man Johni Broome will be teaming up with LeBron James on the Philadelphia 76ers after the "King" made one of the most shocking moves in NBA history official with his two-year, $8 million signing on Friday morning. Broome enters his second season in Philly after being taken No. 35 in the 2025 NBA draft.
James was expected to choose between the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Golden State Wariors. Cleveland offered James another homecoming. Miami offered LeBron the chance to team up with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo while returning to his most successful landing spot. Golden State offered James the chance to form a dream hoops fit alongside Steph Curry. None of those options were as alluring as Philadelphia.
The Sixers acquired Jaylen Brown in a stunning trade with the Boston Celtics earlier this offseason that only cost two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and got Philly off of Paul George's contract. That swap set the stage for a James signing, since the "King" could be an ancillary player beside Brown, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and V.J. Edgecombe. There's a mix of established stars, rising stars, and rookie-scale phenoms. The offer to James was too good to pass up.
Maybe we should've seen it coming. After all, James did mention trusting the process at the Fanatics Fest 2026 convention in NYC during a live podcast with Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton last week. Hali jokingly quipped that it was "Year 76" for LeBron. Now we know that wasn't a joke.
Johni Broome has the chance to thrive alongside LeBron James
James says he won't be a featured player on his new team, but we all know that's kind of not possible. As long as the "King" is suiting up, he's going to be a locker room leader and an on-court player/coach who sets the table for teammates.
Broome could be a major beneficiary of LeBron's arrival, though with a caveat. Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti, the former a second-round pick himself in 2024, the latter a free-agent signing from the New York Knicks in the offseason, will be Broome's main competition to make it onto the floor. He needs to beat out both, and that's an uphill climb, to say the least.
If Broome can find the floor after an impressive Summer League showing in Las Vegas, he will have the chance to catch easy lobs at the rim, find James on backdoor cuts, and find himself open on the perimeter to rip long-range shots. James could find himself running the second unit as Maxey, Brown, and Embiid get their shots when the starters are on the floor.
James has always done great work with rolling bigs, and Broome is proving he has enough athleticism to play a traditional big man role. Well, at least he did in Summer League. Broome had a rough start to his career last year, making just four of his 24 shot attempts. He missed all five of his threes and went 2/6 from the free-throw line.
That was all before LeBron arrived in the City of Brotherly Love, though. Anyone wearing a Sixers uniform has to be excited about what comes next now that the modern-day G.O.A.T. is in Philadelphia to end his illustrious NBA career.
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