LeBron James is about to add another chapter to a career that keeps finding new firsts, and this one comes with a strange twist. On Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, he’ll make his regular-season debut for the Sixers and open his record 24th NBA season. Philadelphia is his fourth franchise and fifth NBA stint, if you count both of his Cleveland runs.
The setting has its own edge. James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin at Sixers media day that he had “visions” of playing at Madison Square Garden and finishing his career there. The Knicks’ championship changed that plan, and now his Philadelphia debut will come from the visiting locker room while New York lifts its championship banner.
That doesn’t mean the Garden has ever been a tough place for him. James has gone 24-9 in 33 games there, with averages of 28.2 points, 7.4 assists and 6.9 rebounds.
What Tuesday really kicks off, though, is the latest entry in what could be a long season of small and big moments. One of the first arrived in the preseason, when James showed the kind of physical commitment that instantly gets noticed in a new locker room.
In Friday’s preseason finale, with 8:56 left in the third quarter and the Sixers ahead of the Celtics, 69-62, Luka Garza missed a three-pointer. Ron Harper Jr. secured the offensive rebound and the ball found its way back to Garza.
James then set himself outside the restricted area, took the hit from the 6-foot-10, 243-pound center and drew the charge. The Sixers bench blew up.
There was a little more to the reaction than just one play. Maxey said the team had seen a similar moment in practice, when Adem Bona rolled toward the basket and James stepped aside.
James told his teammates he would absorb the contact when it counted in a real game. “We don’t want Bona running Bron over,” Maxey joked.
He followed through in the final exhibition game, and rookie Labaron Philon took notice.
“Everybody jumped up off the bench and was pretty happy for him that a guy really that old was still putting his body on the line for us in a preseason game,” Philon said. “That really tells it all.
… I hope he can bring that to Tuesday and for the rest of the season. I want to see some more of those.”
History says James’ debuts with new teams have not exactly gone his way. His first game for the Cavaliers came on Oct. 29, 2003, when an 18-year-old James put up 25 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals on 12-for-20 shooting, but Sacramento won 106-92.
On Oct. 26, 2010, his highly anticipated Heat debut in Boston brought 31 points, yet the Celtics still held Miami to an 88-80 loss.
His return to Cleveland on Oct. 30, 2014 is the closest comparison to Tuesday. The crowd was deafening, the expectations enormous, and the Knicks still spoiled the night. James finished with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and eight turnovers in a 95-90 New York win.
Then came his Lakers debut on Oct. 18, 2018. James delivered 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, but Portland beat Los Angeles 128-119.
That leaves him 0-4 in previous stint openers, with averages of 24.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists in those games. Tuesday gives him another shot at that first debut win, and once again, the Knicks are in the way.
James also finds himself back on a SLAM cover, more than 24 years after he first appeared on the magazine before playing a minute in the NBA. In August 2002, he and fellow high school star Sebastian Telfair shared SLAM 62, under the title “The Takeover,” with the cover forecasting that the two teenagers were about to take over the basketball world.
Now James is fronting SLAM 265 in his new No. 23 uniform. This one is called “This is my last run. Part II,” with the title “Leaving the Legacy.”
The standard edition is priced at $13.99. It’s the first of five covers for SLAM’s December 2026/January 2027 issue and includes 82 pages plus a pullout poster.
SLAM also opened a 48-hour ordering window for a $65 Orange Metal version, available through Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET.
Each copy will be numbered, and 24 buyers will randomly land the even rarer Platinum Metal edition. A $125 Gold Metal version, limited to 94 copies, has already sold out.
The first cover announced “The Takeover.” The latest is about “Leaving the Legacy.”
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