“I’m not going for money.” That was LeBron James’ reasoning when asked why he chose Philadelphia. At 41, he walked away from a $52.6 million Lakers salary and sacrificed nearly $49 million to chase another championship with the 76ers. And turns out, he wasn’t bluffing when he said money wasn’t the only motivation.

James had three specific reasons for choosing Philadelphia, and he laid them out on the latest episode of Mind the Game with Steve Nash. But his comments about Joel Embiid were the most striking.

“And one of the most important, to be honest, is the big fella,” James said. “He’s done everything in our league, and the only thing he has not done is win a championship. And I want to try to help him get that first one.

“He’s been the MVP of our league, has a gold medal, All-Stars, signature shoes, a bunch of money, beautiful family, he has everything. He has a city on his back. He’s been ‘The Process’ for 10 years, 12 years, however long he’s been there. But I think it’s time we even dig deeper into the process. And I hope that I can be, kind of, that final little piece that can help him get over the hump, and have him maybe see it just a little bit differently than he’s seen it in his career, as far as the day-to-day process, the day-to-day of what it takes to get there.” 

James believes he can be the final piece that helps the Sixers’ superstar finally win an NBA championship. Moreover, for Embiid, that “hump” has been there for years. He has collected the individual accomplishments, but Philadelphia has repeatedly fallen short when the postseason arrives. Their most painful exit came in 2019.  

Philadelphia and Toronto were tied in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals when Kawhi Leonard’s shot bounced off the rim four times before dropping through the net. The 76ers were eliminated, and Embiid walked toward the locker room in tears.

“It’s going to be a long offseason. Game 7, losing a game like that… you feel like you had a chance. It sucks.”

Four years later, another Game 7 brought another painful ending.

Philadelphia lost to Boston 112-88 in the 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals. Embiid, despite winning the MVP award that season, finished with 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting.

His response showed what had become the real focus of his career.

“I can’t win alone… We all have to get better.”

Embiid stayed committed to Philadelphia anyway.

When he signed his three-year, $193 million extension in September 2024, he made his priorities clear.

“Philly is home. I want to be here for the rest of my career.”

That history helps explain why James’ comments are so significant. He isn’t walking into Philadelphia unaware of what Embiid has been through. He knows the pressure, the playoff disappointments and the expectations that come with being the face of a franchise. And he believes his experience can help Embiid approach that pursuit differently. 

While Embiid may have been the most interesting part of James’ explanation, he wasn’t the only reason Philadelphia attracted him. His relationship with Tyrese Maxey played a major role, and James made it clear.

“First of all, my relationship with Tyrese Maxey goes beyond the court,” James said. “I just love everything about Tyrese Maxey.”

James particularly appreciates Maxey’s consistency, something he considers rare in both sports and life. In fact, that relationship became even more meaningful during free agency. After James decided he would not return to the Lakers, Maxey was one of the first people to call him.

“Yo, what we doing? What’s up OG? What’s up oldhead? Come on down here, man, we could use you down here.”

James also mentioned that he normally doesn’t answer calls from people trying to influence his free agency decision, but Maxey was an exception because of the relationship they had already built. 

These were reasons enough, but then Philadelphia made another move that made the deal even sweeter.

“I thought the JB trade, too, was another piece than I don’t think anybody saw coming… I love the way that he approaches the game, too. Both sides of the floor, what he brings to the game, his insight on the game… misunderstood, and that is absolutely okay… I love what he stands for, what he brings to the table.” 

Brown gave the Sixers something they didn’t have before. Another established star who has already had experience with the pressure of winning a championship. 

“I love the way that he approaches the game, too,” James said. “Both sides of the floor, what he brings to the game, his insight on the game.” 

But here is a thing: talent has never been the only question surrounding the Sixers.

Embiid has struggled to stay healthy

During the 2023-24 season, Embiid played 39 regular-season games. In 2024-25, that number dropped to 19. Last season, he played 38 games before an emergency appendectomy in April, followed by ankle and hip issues during the postseason.

That is why Steve Nash’s comments on Mind the Game carry so much weight.

“Definitely one of the most disappointing things has been his health. For a player that is so talented, so gifted to have such a difficult time staying healthy, you know, that that’s the big question for me about the team is that he is, you know, such a big piece of the team, such a talented player… I mean, he shows up for three games against Boston and wins the series, you know, just bullied them through the series and then his body can’t take it.”

That Boston series showed both sides of Embiid’s story at once.

After returning from his appendectomy, Embiid played the final three games of the first-round series. In Game 7, he produced 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists as Philadelphia eliminated Boston.

Then his body became the story again.

Philadelphia lost to New York in six games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Embiid was dealing with an ankle sprain and a sore hip, and in Game 6 he finished with 24 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes as the Knicks closed out the series with a 144-114 win.

So LeBron is walking into a team with a strange problem.

The Sixers may finally have enough around Embiid to reduce the burden on him, but their biggest question remains whether the stars can stay healthy long enough for that help to matter.

LeBron knows the importance of having players around him who have already been through the biggest moments.

“I’ve been through the foxhole… of knowing what it takes, from the moment we step on the court for training camp, to the moment we raise that Larry O’Brien Trophy.”

That is what makes the Philadelphia experiment so fascinating.

The Sixers are not simply asking whether LeBron can still play at 41. They are asking whether his experience can change the way a team built around Embiid handles the most difficult part of the season. Plus, there is also another connection worth watching.

When Anthony Davis arrived in Los Angeles in 2019, he was already an elite big man who had never advanced beyond the second round. LeBron became his teammate, and the Lakers won the championship in their first season together.

Now LeBron has another elite big man beside him.

Only this time, the player he wants to help has been waiting even longer.

Philadelphia last won the NBA championship in 1983, the same season when Moses Malone turned the 76ers into the team that finally finished the job. Now LeBron has taken a $48.6 million hit in annual salary to chase another championship and help Embiid get his first.

The money explains the size of the sacrifice.

Embiid explains the reason.

But his health may ultimately decide whether the story ends like 1983 or becomes another chapter in Philadelphia’s long wait.

Because LeBron has already told everyone what he wants to be.

The final piece.

Now Philadelphia has to find out whether the piece it has been missing can finally stay on the floor long enough to finish the puzzle.