LeBron James has called on his new Philadelphia 76ers teammates to embrace hard work, repetition and uncomfortable situations as the franchise prepares to chase its first NBA championship since 1983.
James is heading into a record 24th NBA season after signing a two-year deal with Philadelphia in July. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer believes the Sixers have the talent to achieve something special but warned that success will not come immediately.
“Everybody is kind of on the same page,” James said. “We want to put the work in. That’s most important. Everyone is highly motivated to get 1 per cent better every single day… Everyone is excited to be here and that’s exciting to be a part of.”
The four-time NBA champion joins a powerful lineup featuring former Boston star Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe.
“If we’re trying to do something special, which I believe we are, it’s a positive,” James said.
The 41-year-old stressed that individual sacrifices would be necessary if Philadelphia is to turn its talent into postseason success.
“So many guys in our league over the course of my career have never made a sacrifice. They average 20, 22 points a game and they have one or two post-season appearances and zero post-season wins.
“I don’t think anybody in the locker room wants their career to be like that or we wouldn’t be here.”
James, who has won championships with Miami, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers, also cautioned against expecting immediate chemistry.
“It’s going to take time. People sometimes they don’t want to work. They want instant oatmeal,” James said.
“If you want to do something special, it takes time, every single day doing things you may not want to do, because it’s the same thing over and over and over and over.”
James added: “For us to be great we have to do things that are just not comfortable. We have to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”
He made clear that simply having an impressive roster would not satisfy him, saying he did not leave his family “to lose in the second round.”
James also said he is prepared to fill whatever role Philadelphia requires.
“Whatever the team needs for me to do,” he said. “The luxury of my game is that I can do everything. Literally, I can do everything.”
He hopes his championship experience can benefit the entire squad, particularly Embiid, while revealing that his “great” relationship with Maxey was “one of the main deciding factors” behind choosing Philadelphia.
“If you have this championship approach every day, it will definitely work in our favor,” James said.
