Joel Embiid ended up giving LeBron James something the Warriors couldn’t
When LeBron James weighed his free-agency options, the Golden State Warriors could offer familiar faces, old relationships and the pull of the Bay Area. But they couldn’t offer what the Philadelphia 76ers could: a chance to help Joel Embiid finally get over the top.
That mattered. James’ decision, as he explained on the latest episode of the Mind The Game podcast, wasn’t just about his own next move. Embiid’s unfinished business became part of the appeal.
“He's done everything in our league, and the only thing he has not done is win a championship. And I want to try to help him get that first one," James said of Embiid.
That line tells the whole story. Golden State’s pitch was always going to run into a problem because so much of its core has already lived the dream.
Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, the two players trying to recruit James, have each won four championships. Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis were part of the Boston Celtics’ 2024 title run.
Jimmy Butler is the outlier there, but even he has reached the NBA Finals twice.
The 76ers, by contrast, could sell James on something different. Embiid’s résumé is loaded, but the missing piece is glaring: no championship, and not even an Eastern Conference Finals appearance. That opened the door for a pitch built around meaning as much as winning.
Golden State’s case, in the end, was thinner than the speculation around it. The Warriors could point to veteran company and James’ connections with players he knows well. They could also lean on the fact that Los Angeles remains close enough for his family.
But James is still chasing meaningful basketball, and he still wants a fifth championship. That made Philadelphia the better fit, especially after the 76ers’ blockbuster trade for Jaylen Brown just weeks before James made his call.
His bond with Tyrese Maxey and the chance to help Embiid reach the finish line helped push the decision over the top. From the Warriors’ perspective, it’s a reminder that too much success can be a hard sell when a player is looking for one more real run at a title.
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