Not everyone in the basketball world greeted LeBron James’ signing with the Philadelphia 76ers as an unambiguous win. Charles Barkley and Danny Green, both former champions, have publicly questioned whether the move will actually deliver the title James is chasing — even as they acknowledge the roster on paper is loaded.
Barkley, a Sixers legend himself, said on the “Stephen A. Smith Show” that he’d hoped James would return to Cleveland instead, arguing James has “no affiliation” with either Philadelphia or the other finalist, Golden State. He renewed a long-standing critique that James has built super-teams throughout his career — in Miami, Cleveland and Los Angeles — and said joining another one in Philly fits the same pattern. Barkley did leave a door open: he said that if James wins back-to-back titles with the 76ers before retiring, he’d be willing to call him the greatest player of all time.
Green, who won a title alongside James with the Lakers in 2020, raised a different concern — pecking order. He argued that on this roster, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown are the best players, followed by Joel Embiid, which would make James only the team’s fourth option at this stage of his career.
The skepticism stands in contrast to the betting markets, which have installed Philadelphia with the third-shortest odds to win it all next season. Podcaster Bill Simmons landed somewhere in between, reportedly ranking the move near the top of his “uh-oh” list of offseason bets that could just as easily blow up as pay off, citing James’ age and Embiid’s injury history as the wild cards. For now, the debate over whether this roster is destiny or a ticking clock remains unresolved — and won’t be settled until the games start.