Kevin Durant’s decision to join a 73-win roster sparked a league-wide debate about competitive balance that never fully died down. This summer, after LeBron James joined the Philadelphia 76ers, the same debate has resurfaced, with coach Nick Nurse giving his take.

Before he responded to that, the 76ers coach spoke on how he convinced LeBron James to join the Philadelphia 76ers over the other possible suitors.

“I think he’s a great player, and I think we’re fortunate to have him on the team,” Nurse said on the Take Off with John Clark podcast. “And that’s kind of where I started. I said, I think you slot right in there perfectly.”

“We did talk about some multi-position situations, talked to him about, you know, just his leadership in general, his professionalism in general that could help, I think, raise the level of some things,” he added. “Talked about his late game play, things like that. That’s about it.”

The pitch worked. LeBron James signed a two-year, $8 million deal on July 24, on Nurse’s birthday. He joined Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and newly acquired Jaylen Brown in what’s become one of the most talked-about starting lineups in recent memory.

Shams Charania reported that Nurse was the only head coach who spoke directly with James throughout the three-week free agency process.

Kevin Durant compared it to his own 2016-17 Warriors team. They won a championship after Durant joined a roster featuring Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Durant argued that the Sixers’ collection of Embiid, Brown, Maxey and James actually tops that Golden State group on paper. A take that got a response from Thompson and Green themselves.

Nurse responded to the Durant comparison, saying:

“Championship teams have a lot of similar characteristics. And the first thing is, is we need to get to work, right?” he said when asked about how he will handle the pressure that comes with Durant’s comparison. “I really still put hard work and work ethic and all that stuff at the top of the list if you want to win. Are we going to outwork our opponents, right? Are we going to watch better film, more film, spend more hours?”

Nurse referenced his championship plan from Toronto’s 2019 title run to make the point. He asserted that talent alone doesn’t win in June, calling it “a two-month-long process, but we just kept getting better. Each series better and better. And I think that’s the goal. And you just got to try to reach your ceiling.”