Iman Shumpert reacts to LeBron James going to the 76ers 🤯🗣️ HE WANTS TO WIN! | SportsCenter

With a look at LeBron James and you can only guess is what his future holds.

Nobody has any idea what the future holds and I don't either.I'll take time to recalibrate and see what's best for my future.At that point, everyone will know.

Breaking news, LeBron James has made his decision.He is headed to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Sixers were not even in the picture, were not on the map until Bob Myers went out there and traded for Jalen Brown.The fact that he's chosen Philadelphia from a basketball standpoint, it makes all the sense in the world.

Back to our breaking news here on SportsCenter.LeBron James' process has led him to Philadelphia.The 41 -year -old announcing he's joining the 76ers on a deal sources told our Shams Sharania is for two years and $8 million.In a series of tweets today, LeBron said he thought he was going to retire, but he still loves the game and believes he can help Philly win a title.Now, it's hard to overstate how aggressive this offseason has been for Philly.In addition to signing LeBron, the Sixers also traded for 2024 Finals MVP Jalen Brown, casually, back on July 1st, making them the first team in NBA history to add multiple finals MVPs in the same season.

Joining us now is senior NBA writer Dave McMenamin.Dave, the day has come.What's your reaction to LeBron choosing Philly?

Well, it's amazing to hear someone say that they want to go to Philadelphia to win a championship.I grew up in Philly, and the first 25 years of my life, there was no championship for any Philadelphia sports team until the Philadelphia Phillies won in 2008.And so LeBron gets to go and possibly erase a 43 -year championship drought for the Philadelphia 76ers.And we've seen from LeBron's celebration of the Cavs' 10 -year reunion of winning a championship in 2016, a championship that erased a 52 -year drought, not all championshipscreated equal.And so if he was to be able to accomplish this goal, win a fifth championship, and have two of them be in such an epic fashion, epic nature, where you're easing the pains of a long -suffering fan base, that's some storybook stuff there.

And I'm excited to see how it plays out.

Maybe we'll hear him say, Philly, this is for you.I'm not going to do the actual scream here on SportsCenter, but LeBron picked the Sixers over teams like the Cavs, Warriors, and he, Dave, what can you share about Philly's pursuit that compelled LeBron?

I think you got to give a lot of credit to Tyrese Maxey here.For years, LeBron has considered Tyrese Maxey to be one of his favorite not just players in the NBA, but favorite people.And the way that Tyrus Maxey led the pursuit, Sixers players like Maxey, Jalen Brown, Joel Embiid, with a steady stream of texts and phone calls expressing their interests, sailing Philadelphia as a destination, talking about what they can all do and accomplish together, make something special happen.That, to me, is as big of a difference maker as any when it comes to the scenarios he was considering.And Tyrus Maxley, a two -time All -Star, damn near 30 -point -per -game score in his own right.LeBron James sees that and that's, I mean, think about who we won a championship with in Cleveland in Kyrie Irving.

That type of skill set is a player that LeBron can play off quite well.

Well, the pursuit for Tyrese Maxey is now LeBron James' pursuit of basketball happiness.We'll see if he can achieve it here in the 76ers.Dave, we appreciate the insight.

Let's tag in one of LeBron's former teammates, NBA champion Iman Shumpert.Shup, take us through your initial thoughts since LeBron posted his decision.

My initial thought, he wants to win.I broke it.down a lot of times when we was talking about it previously, just saying LeBron's decision of quote -unquote happiness is going to be rested upon.Can he win there?Does he like the city?Does he feel like he can do something special?

I think his love for the game has always trumped everything.He's not just in this thing for winning or playing.another year, just as it means to LeBron James.I think it's all about the brand of basketball.He plays.Is it a fun way to go out?

Is this a way that presents a new challenge for him?We looked at the late days of Michael Jordan.It became about a challenge.Guys like this want to be challenged.It is a challenge to go to Philly and to bring a championship.And I think he might be the perfect ingredient right now.

It's been over 40 years since Philly won a championship, but you were a part of that 2016 championship Cavs team, and you were part of that reunion trip that they took this summer, and you were with Bron before he made his decision.Now that it's official, my guy, was there any tells, any vibes, any hints, or an impression that you got from LeBron that maybe Philly will be the choice?

Uh, no, actually nothing like that.I knew he was going to keep playing.I think what I gathered from that is this man is really going for a quarter century as far as playing professionally in the NBA for 25 years.I thought that that was more the goal seeing him go to Philly actually surprised me a little even though I put it down as an option.It surprises me a little because he's again putting the pressure on himself to deliver a championship, which is honorable when you think about it.

Alright, so LeBron walks into a locker room with big stars and personalities that include Jalen Brown, Tyrese Massey, and Joel Embiid.How do you imagine that they'll fit in terms of leadership and how everyone gets to eat offensively?

I think that when you enter guys like Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jalen Brown, I think you look at that and you think about the egos, you think about what comes with that.I think the reason LeBron is the perfect ingredient is it's hard to get a finals MVP to listen.But when you bring somebody like LeBron James, everybody has to listen.Even your coaching staff has to listen because of all the experience that he's had, the different lineups he's been a part of, the different roles he's had to play in the league.I think that he himself can change the pace of the team and allow those players to play how they play vj maxi gonna be a little turn, you know, getting on the breakaway, but also just wanting to run and wanting to play faster.I think LeBron becomes the perfect change up because he can play point forward, but he can also play with his back to the basket and survey the field.

So I think it's also a big key for me. is to know that Joel Embiid's health has always been in question.Now you get to be next to LeBron James, who has showed us longevity.He has shown us how to take care of our bodies.He will be sitting front row to watch and be a part of Joel Embiid's journey to get healthy.

All right, so only the Thunder and Spurs have better odds to win the title than the Sixers.How do you see the pecking order for the title?

The New York Knicks won the championship.So the pecking order starts there.They have to be first.The chip is in New York.But when I look at the rest of the league, I'm getting excited.I'm not really putting it together in a race because the league just got a whole lot deeper when you start talking about the conversation of attacking that gold ball.

I think a lot of teams are going to be in the mix, but it's going to be up to us seeing this in the first couple of months to really be able to put a plan or a decision together.on who is really a contender.Right now, the defending champs are the New York Knicks.

Regardless, those Philly cheesesteaks finna be poppin, Shump.Ooh, they gonna be so good!

The brotherly love is back, baby!