PHILADELPHIA (AP) — LeBron James performed his famed chalk toss and was introduced to a roaring ovation on Friday night in his first preseason game for the 76ers in Philadelphia.
The 41-year-old James, who joined the 76ers this summer for his NBA-record 24th season, brought the crowd to its feet early when he finished a dunk against the Boston Celtics off a half-court lob pass from All-Star Tyrese Maxey.
Just wait until it counts.
Public address announcer Matt Cord offered a full-throated “At 6-9, from St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, No. 23, LeBron James! James!” for the intros. Joel Embiid still got the final introduction.
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While nothing from this game will go down on James’ stat sheet, Sixers fans had been waiting to catch a glimpse of him in his No. 23 jersey since he signed with the team in July. Scores of kids in Sixers jerseys crowded over the home team entrance canopy and screamed for James to stop for a picture or an autograph.
The arena ushers behind the Sixers’ bench kept saying “Keep walking!” to the gaggle of fans and slow walkers who stopped to watch James in warmups. One constantly barked, “You can’t stand here unless you’ve got a ticket!”
None of the stragglers had one.
James did welcome one boy and one girl to the bench with him after he finished shooting and posed for a quick photo.
The Sixers played all of their starters except for VJ Edgecombe. Jaylen Brown played against the Celtics for the first time since the 2024 NBA Finals MVP was traded to the Sixers in the offseason.
James sat out the Sixers’ home preseason opener but played in a scrimmage that was open to the public and drew 10,000 fans.
He then made his preseason debut last week at Brooklyn. He had 10 points, five assists and four rebounds in the first half.
The Sixers play their season opener on Tuesday against New York at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks will raise the banner to celebrate their NBA championship. Philadelphia’s home opener is Thursday against Cleveland, followed by back-to-back games over the weekend.
James spent the last eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers before signing a two-year deal with the Sixers for the league minimum.
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