Philadelphia 76ers fans got a jolt this week from a LeBron James rumor that looked juicy on the surface and fell apart almost immediately.
A photo making the rounds on X appeared to show James’ daughter, Zhuri James, listed for enrollment at the Baldwin School of the Arts & Sciences in Philadelphia. The image spread fast enough to get Sixers fans imagining a path to James joining Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
The Full Time Sports account posted the picture Thursday and framed it as a possible clue about James’ next move.
“BREAKING: Photo surfacing appears to show LeBron James enrolled his child in a school in Philadelphia,” the account wrote.
But the supposed evidence didn’t hold up. X added a Community Note making clear the image was fake.
“This image of a school enrollment list is not real,” the note stated. “The version without red bars shows a phone number starting with 555 which is reserved for fictional use in television and films and not used for actual US phone numbers.”
That was enough to sink the rumor, though not before it had already done what these kinds of posts are built to do: light up the fan base and feed the speculation machine.
And with James still unsigned, the timing made it easy for people to buy in. He became an unrestricted free agent on June 30 after telling the Los Angeles Lakers he planned to join another team. Since then, he has been linked to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and 76ers.
James didn’t exactly shut the door on the guessing game Thursday, either. At Fanatics Fest in New York, he made two public appearances that kept the conversation rolling.
During a live taping of his “Mind the Game” podcast, James told the crowd to shout out where they wanted him to land, and Philadelphia was one of the names that came up.
“Wherever I land in the fall, hopefully, you know, if you’re a ride-or-die LeBron fan, you’ve been down with me since Day 1,” James later said at the CNBC Sport x Boardroom Game Plan Summit. “Hopefully, you ride with me here.”
He also said his family will play a major role in the decision.
“The family portion is a big thing,” James said. “It’s not just about the team. There’s so many other factors that I’m factoring in right now on what not only best fit me as a player, what best fit me as a person, what best fit me as a ... my happiness, and also with my family as well.”
That’s exactly why a fake school list got so much traction. James has made it clear his next move won’t come down to basketball alone, so anything that seems to tie his family to a city is going to set off alarms - and hopes - among fans.
For now, there’s no real sign that Zhuri has been enrolled in a Philadelphia school or that James is headed to the Sixers. He averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 60 regular-season games for the Lakers last season, then put up 23.2 points, 7.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds in the playoffs.
At 41, he still has the kind of game that can change the picture for a contender in a hurry. Philadelphia fans can dream. They just can’t do it off a fake 555 phone number.
In Other News...
This Mavericks Rumor Could Change The Sixers Biggest Rotation Question
The Sixers search for a dependable center option has become one of the quieter but more important roster questions around the team, especially with the front office still weighing how to shore up the spot behind Joel Embiid. Daniel Gafford has emerged as a name to watch in that conversation, giving Philadelphia a veteran interior presence if it decides to explore the trade market for help up front.
The catch is that any pursuit would have to clear a financial hurdle, since Gaffords contract makes him a tougher fit for a team that has to think carefully about flexibility. And with Embiids future still hovering over every roster discussion, the Sixers are left trying to balance short-term depth against the bigger-picture choices that could shape the next phase of the franchise. [Read more 🡒]
Another No. 1 Pick Just Reopened The Markelle Fultz Wound
The Hawks decision to move on from Zaccharie Risacher after just two seasons is the kind of draft-day reminder that resonates far beyond Atlanta. In a three-team deal, they sent the No. 1 pick from the 2024 NBA Draft elsewhere and brought back Lu Dort and Ryan Nembhard, a sign they were ready to pivot quickly rather than keep waiting on a former top selection to settle in.
For Sixers fans, the move inevitably drags Markelle Fultz back into the conversation, because it is the first time since Philadelphias experience with him that a No. 1 overall pick has been traded after two years or fewer with the team that drafted him. The comparison is an uncomfortable one, not because every situation is identical, but because it revives the same old question about how quickly a franchise decides a prized pick no longer fits the path it thought it was building. [Read more 🡒]
What Sixers Summer League Really Changed In The Rotation Race
The Sixers summer league run started with a promising jolt, as the group won its first two games before dropping the last three, and the uneven finish still offered a few clues about where the roster picture might be heading. Labaron Philon Jr. was the most encouraging of the bunch, showing the kind of ballhandling, shooting and playmaking that can make a young guard hard to ignore once the games start to count.
Johni Broome brought a different kind of intrigue, flashing rebounding and passing ability while also running into the familiar questions that can follow a big man trying to carve out a place in the league. His summer showed both the value he can bring and the limits he has to overcome, and with the Sixers still sorting out the edges of the roster, the final openings may end up being just as important as the names already on it. [Read more 🡒]