The first time a rookie wanted to add LeBron James to the Philadelphia 76ers’ group chat, he did not even feel comfortable doing it himself. VJ Edgecombe was only trying to figure out how a team chat works. But with James entering his 24th NBA season, the rookie apparently had one problem: how exactly do you casually add LeBron James to a group chat?

“I can’t say, ‘go add ‘Bron to the group chat.’ Besides, even if I had his number, why would I randomly add LeBron to a group chat? You get what I’m saying? So I told Tyrese to do it,” Edgecombe said.

That little moment said plenty about James’ place in Philadelphia before he had even played his first public scrimmage. The rookie saw him as LeBron James first and a teammate second. Tyrese Maxey, meanwhile, was already comfortable enough to be the bridge between the 41-year-old superstar and the younger Sixers. A few days later, that relationship produced a much funnier picture: Maxey handing his infant daughter to James and putting the four-time champion on babysitting duty.

There was plenty for Philadelphia to watch before James ever sat down with a baby.

Nearly 10,000 fans packed Xfinity Mobile Arena for the October 3 Blue x White Scrimmage, an event moved from the Sixers’ traditional Wilmington venue because demand around the new-look team was so high. Tickets were priced at $10, with the organization donating 5,000 tickets to community groups and Sixers Youth Foundation partners and raising more than $80,000 for youth programming.

The crowd finally got its first real look at a starting group that had spent the summer changing the entire feel of the franchise: Maxey, Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, James and Joel Embiid.

James wore No. 9 because his familiar No. 6 is retired by Philadelphia in honor of Julius Erving. Then, once the scrimmage began, he gave the crowd exactly the kind of reminder it had come to see.

Maxey pushed the ball in transition and dropped a lob toward James. The veteran rose, threw down the dunk and hung on the rim. Later, James knocked down a step-back three over Ariel Hukporti and even grabbed a defensive rebound before starting the break himself and finding Edgecombe in the corner.

The basketball was already enough to get Philadelphia excited. Embiid’s health added another reason for optimism, with Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey saying, “We got a plan together, and he’s been in every single drill, every single practice. So there’s been no restrictions… Looks a little bit lighter, obviously, but the skill level is still there. Some of the stuff he does now, seeing it in person, it’s incredible.”

And James sounded just as encouraged about playing alongside Embiid again.

“Basically kind of picked up from 2024 during Olympics. We had some chemistry. We played a lot of minutes… he’s just so much healthier. He hasn’t missed a practice,” James said.

Then the game stopped, the basketball disappeared from the picture and James found himself with a completely different responsibility.

Tyrese Maxey had his four-month-old daughter, Marvel, with him. During a stoppage, Maxey handed her over to James, who sat on the bench and bounced the baby on his knee.

The man who had just thrown down a dunk and drilled a three now had a newborn in his arms.

And somehow, LeBron looked like he had been given a Game 7 assignment.

James later made it clear that he was taking the job seriously.

“When Unk is called upon you handle with care! LOL. She’s the best!”

That response made the moment even better because the internet had already decided James looked like a man trying to solve a basketball problem.

Why Maxey handing his daughter to LeBron meant more than a funny clip

The joke works on its own. But the relationship behind it is what makes the moment worth more than a quick social-media post.

James and Maxey’s connection goes back years. They shared a connection through Klutch Sports dating back to Maxey’s pre-draft days, and that relationship only grew as Maxey established himself in the NBA.

Brian Windhorst explained why that history mattered when Philadelphia was pursuing James.

“He’s basically part of LeBron’s extended family. You would not only have Jaylen Brown as the addition, you would have Tyrese Maxey as your drawing card… There’s a longstanding relationship between Tyrese Maxey and LeBron because of Klutch.”

Maxey eventually became a key part of the effort to bring James to Philadelphia. So the image of Maxey trusting James with his daughter did not come completely out of nowhere.

James has also made it clear that his respect for Maxey goes beyond what the guard does with a basketball.

“I love his game, but I love him the person more than even his game. And that’s tough to do… The humbleness that Tyrese does it at—that starts with his family,” James said.

That family connection has become even more important for Maxey this year. He and Myra Gordon welcomed Marvel on May 14, 2026, with Maxey announcing her arrival on Instagram with the caption, “little life update ft. baby Marvel 5.14.26.”

So while Philadelphia was getting its first public look at James and Maxey working together as teammates, Maxey was also bringing another part of his life into that new chapter.

And that is where the viral moment became much more personal.

James has spent his entire NBA career growing into the role of father in public. Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri have grown up around the league, with Bronny eventually joining his father on the NBA court and making James and him the first father-son duo to play together in an official NBA game.

James has even spoken about how the patience required in parenting carries over into the way he leads teammates.

“You can’t go in and say ‘this is how I’m going to lead.’ It comes back to that patience of learning their mindsets, learning how you can get the most out of them, what triggers them to be their best, and what triggers them to not be their best. You learn that over time.”

So perhaps “Uncle Bron” was not such a bad title after all.

The only problem was that the internet was far more interested in James’ facial expression than his leadership philosophy.

Fans go wild over LeBron’s unexpected babysitting duty

The clip spread quickly, with fans locking onto the same detail: James looked unbelievably serious while holding a tiny baby.

One fan summed up the image simply: “She got the opportunity that humans will never get 😂😂😂 held by the GOAT.”

Another could not get past James’ posture: “the way he’s holding it like a game tape is sending me.”

Then came the jokes about James’ own children. One commenter wrote, “Bro never held his own kids 😂.”

Another took that joke even further: “Savannah raised them kids, this man looks super uncomfortable 😂😭”

The expression itself became its own story.

“lmaooo why tf is he so focused 😂,” one fan asked.

Another imagined the situation had gone far worse than it actually did, writing, “This is funny. Why his face like that lol.”

The internet then started writing dialogue for James.

One fan imagined him looking at Marvel and asking, “so how long you been around?”

Another focused on the handoff itself: “😆 pass the baby while pops go shoot. Hope LBJ remembers how to burp a baby. Good job!”

Then came perhaps the most accurate description of James’ body language: “He was looking around like who could he pass the baby to 😂.”

The jokes eventually gave James a new Philadelphia job title. Fans tossed around names like “LeBabysitter” and “LeUnc,” while one person joked, “The world’s most expensive babysitter 🤣.”

Someone else took the babysitting offer seriously enough to make James an actual request: “LeBron, how are you with newborns? Alyssa and I have a Carly Rae Jepsen concert to go to on May 18 and need a sitter.”

The humor even stretched beyond the moment itself. One fan imagined the baby growing up with a story almost too ridiculous to believe, writing, “Lebron and that baby at this moment developed a custom handshake.. In 17yrs from now she’ll be a 1st overall pick in the WNBA and LeBron will be in his 40th season 😂.”

Another compared the image to the famous Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal connection: “This is a Messi and Yamal moment… she’s gonna be a star athlete one day.”

Then came the wholesome side of the reaction.

“Aww she doesn’t even realize she was being held by one of the GOATS lol this video is gonna resurface in like 20 years.”

And perhaps the funniest part of the whole exchange was that even the Maxey-LeBron relationship became part of the joke.

“Maxey said iight that’s enough. Gimme my kid back lol…”

One Sixers fan, meanwhile, used the moment to connect it right back to the summer that brought James to Philadelphia:

“I told y’all if LeBron comes to Philly it would be bc of Maxey💯”

The reactions were all over the place, but they kept circling back to the same thing. This was not the LeBron fans were used to seeing.

For a few minutes, there was no championship pressure, no scouting report and no 24th season. There was just LeBron James sitting on a bench with his teammate’s daughter in his arms, looking like he had been handed the most important assignment of the afternoon.

And that may be exactly why the moment landed so well.

From group-chat nerves to “Uncle Bron”

Edgecombe’s group-chat story suddenly feels a lot funnier when placed next to what happened on Saturday.

A rookie once needed Maxey to help him figure out how to approach LeBron.

Maxey eventually helped bring LeBron to Philadelphia.

Now Maxey is comfortable enough to hand James his daughter while the two are sitting on the same NBA bench.

That is a pretty remarkable jump for a relationship that started years before they ever became Sixers teammates.

James also seems to understand the kind of environment he has walked into.

“Everybody’s been super welcoming. I’ve been able to implement some things with my voice and just my command of how I play the game… I’m still getting more and more comfortable off the floor, with travel and without my family… Great first week,” James said.

That last part matters.

Philadelphia was not simply watching a superstar make his debut. It was watching James begin to settle into a new basketball home, alongside Maxey, Embiid, Brown and a young player like Edgecombe who was still figuring out how to casually add LeBron to a group chat.

The scrimmage gave Sixers fans plenty to talk about on the court.

James and Maxey already showed one glimpse of what their connection can look like in transition. Embiid looked healthy. Brown brings another elite two-way presence. Edgecombe showed the kind of confidence that will make the young rookie impossible to ignore.

But the image that escaped the arena and took over social media was much simpler.

LeBron James.

A baby.

And one very serious babysitting assignment.

Philadelphia will find out what this new roster can really do when the regular season begins. The Sixers open October 20 against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, before returning home for their October 22 opener against Cleveland.

For now, though, James has already handled his first Philadelphia responsibility.

He showed the city he can still throw down a dunk.

He showed them he can still hit the three.

And, according to LeBron himself, when “Unk” gets called upon, he can apparently handle the baby duty with care.