LeBron James joining Philadelphia tilted the balance of power in the East, turned the 76ers into nearly co-favorites with the Knicks to win the conference, and led to accusations of ring-chasing from his clickbait haters.
Are the Philadelphia 76ers genuinely contenders now? Kevin Durant says yes, in a quote over the weekend, via Ben Golliver of ESPN.
“The last time they put three 20-point scorers on a team, they said it was unfair, which was the [Warriors] team I was on. [The 76ers] have got four 25-point scorers on this team. So, hell yeah, I think they’re going to be a contender. They’re going to be a fun team to watch. It’s going to be League Pass-worthy.”
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To be technical, while Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid all averaged 25+ points per game last season, LeBron “only” averaged 20.9 playing on a team with Luka Doncic. However, LeBron has averaged 25+ points per game in 20 of his 23 NBA seasons so far.
There are legitimate questions about how all the puzzle pieces fit together in Philadelphia in a way there were not when Durant went to Golden State. The Warriors had an established offensive philosophy and system, a team culture in the locker room, that Durant was plugging into and enhancing. It was a clean fit. Philadelphia is much harder to pin down because it’s basically two teams, the one when Embiid plays and the one when he doesn’t. Brown and LeBron are not coming to be plugged into an already highly-efficient system.
LeBron ring chasing?
One accusation that came out of LeBron choosing Philadelphia — over more narrative-driven options such as Cleveland or Golden State — has been that he is “ring chasing.”
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It is a horribly flawed critique, starting with the fact it comes from people who would have complained he didn’t care about winning if he went to Golden State or Miami — online full-time LeBron haters looking for clicks. These fans too often will lean into the “ringzzzz” culture as a measuring stick but then complain when a player does what is best for them to go get those rings. It’s an impossible double standard.
In an interview with Sam Yip of Hoopshpe, Chris Bosh — who was rooting for LeBron to go to Miami — shot down the ring-chasing argument, bringing in a couple of the other biggest names in the game.
“Philly was a pretty good choice, too. So a lot of people call it ring chasing. Everybody chases rings. If you didn’t think Kobe and Jordan were ring chasers too, you’re crazy. [Laughs] Everybody wants a ring. I’ll chase a ring right now. [Laughs].”
Well said.
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