LeBron James Turns The 76ers Into A Two-Year Title Threat?

LeBron James signing with the Philadelphia 76ers forces a real look at what their starting five and bench could be, and whether they become the best paper roster in the NBA. We lay out roles, stats expectations, title odds in a two-year window, and how Finals MVP and legacy pressure could shape every decision.  
• Projecting the starters around Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, LeBron James, and VJ Edgecombe  
• Defining each star’s role, including LeBron as a playmaking rebounder and matchup defender  
• Debating Dean Wade as a spacing option and how Anthony Simons changes the second unit  
• Arguing the 76ers as the best starting five on paper and a top title favorite  
• Exploring the NBA parity era and why a Sixers title would feel different  
• Breaking down Finals MVP paths and what a ring means for Embiid, Brown, Maxey, and LeBron  
• Naming the biggest needs as more shooting and keeping egos in check  

Please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show  

Transcript

Welcome And Big LeBron News

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show get a bucket. I'm your host, Trey and as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Today we're going to talk about LeBron James signing with the 76ers. But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Comment tell anyone who's anyone about the show. Trying to get the ratings up a little bit, you know, just a little bit. And if you wonder where you heard this before, that's because you've been listening with me Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. So I greatly appreciate your support. Now, like I said, we're going to talk about LeBron James signing with the Philadelphia 76ers and how this impacts the NBA. Finally, for starters, it impacts the NBA because now we can start pairing matchups during the schedule. Who's going to go against who? You know what I'm saying? Like we we we've we've seen the first domino fall. So thank you, Braun. We appreciate you. Now,

Building The New Sixers Starters

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the starters for the 76ers. I think it's fair to say we're going to have Joel Embiid, Jalen Brown, Tyrese Maxie, VJ Edgecomb, and oh yeah, LeBron James. Like that's gonna be a starting vibe for the 76ers. The only caveat that I might even all like try to even entertain is maybe inserting Dean Wade into the starting lineup over VJ Edgecomb. That's the only thing that I would might even entertain. Okay. And that's only from a shooting perspective. When I'm looking at Joel Embiid, right? Plays center, most important player on the team. And I would love if Joel Embiid can give 25 and 10 a night. I think he has that level of production in him, right? Like I think he's done it before. Jalen Brown, small forward. I'm looking at him as like the 1B, right? He can be the one option or the second option, but I kind of view him a little bit higher than that second option. He'll also have to guard the best forwards, the wings, right? So again, I'm thinking maybe 25, even maybe even 22, and adding some elite level defense. That would be my ideal role for Jalen Brown on this team. Tyrese Maxie, point guard role. I'd like to see him at a third option, right? Plus a playmaker, and keep in mind, he's gonna have a chip on his shoulder, ladies and gentlemen. How they lost to the Knicks this last season. It's a sweep, and you scored drastically lower than what you typically do. I'm looking for Tyrese Maxie to give about 20 points and seven assists. I think that's fair, especially given what he just did last season, MVP-esque type season. I think it's fair for him to us to expect 20 points and seven assists out of Tyrese Max to be that dynamic elite guard that we've seen before. Will he get an all-star appearance because of this team? He could, or he might not, because again, the votes. But let's see what happens. But that's what I'm at least expecting from Tyrese. LeBron James, power forward, playmaker, and rebounder, plus guarding those mobile bigs, right? Like when you have Joel Embiid on the floor, well, he's gonna probably, it's best if he's guarding the stationary bigs, right? I'd like for Bron to take on that challenge, even with his age. And I'm gonna I'm looking at at least 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists. Close to that 2020, or yeah, close to that 2015 Draymond Green, right? I think that'd be a fair role to expect out of LeBron James. And then finally for the young buck, VJ Edgecombe, shooting guard, shooter, plus guarding the best guards. Keep in mind, again, I'm I'm thinking maybe 15 points, 12 to 15 points. I can think is is fair to expect out of VJ, especially when we're looking at defense, right? I think VJ can give us 15 to 18, but we're gonna put one factor him on this team, and two, look at the role, because he's gonna make Garden the best guards in the NBA. Yeah, his scoring could dip a little bit, but he's also gonna be open, so he's just gotta knock down some shots. That's why I was thinking Dean Wade, because Dean can at least guard the small forwards. Jalen Brown, you can put him at the shooting guard slot. Floor spacing still there. Plus, we got two big

Bench Depth And Plug And Play Lineups

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bodies also bringing BJ off the bench paired with Anthony Simons. I would like that. Now keep in mind, I said Dean Wade. Dean Wade is probably their best shooter on the team. I'm looking at two to three threes from Dean, okay, because he's given about 37% from the three from his career. And I said probably the best three-point shooter because Anthony Simons, who I'm expecting at least 12 to 15 points, possible six man of the year award recipient, right? Couple that with about four assists, he 38% shooter from the three. So these two boys are about to pair well with this starting five, because you can interchange either one. Like let's say Tyrese Maxie needs a break. Boom, Anthony comes in, you get a similar type role player. Dean Wade, he can replace Jalen Brown or VJ Edgecomb to get you some spacing. So again, ladies and gentlemen, we got some picking, we got some players we can pick and plug and play with on this team. Dominic Barlow, power forward, rebound, and defense. And Adimbo Bona, center, rebounder, and defense. Canavius Cowwell Pope, small forward, shooting guard, 37% from three from career. Two-way player, right? Three and D player, right? Like the 76ers really did well in acquiring some talent. They did. And then they have some other pieces who they, you know, you just got to wait your turn, right? The WITs, if you will. Jabari Walker, Justin Edwards, Labar and Phylon Jr., Ariel Huckporty. These are some players who can be interesting, but they are the, you know what I'm saying? Like the 11 through 15 roster for sure. So when we're looking at the 76ers starting five, let's just go into the heavy hitters,

Do The Sixers Have NBA Best Five

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right? Because I've broken down the team roster and how I'm viewing them. Is this the best starting five in the NBA? Like we have teams like the Knicks, the Thunder, the Spurs, the Nuggets, the Rockets, Wolves, Wizards, Hawks, Magic. Don't think about the teams. Think about their starting five. I think it's fair to say that the 76ers have the best starting five in the NBA. Especially if you're just looking at it on paper. Like we haven't seen them play yet. But on paper, yeah, I think it's fair to say they have the best starting five in the NBA. It's arguable. At worst, it's arguable. Now,

The Two Year Championship Window

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should they be viewed as the favorite to win the titles? That's remember, ladies and gentlemen, this is a two-year window. Because you acquire LeBron James and Jalen Brown, who both kind of have a chip on their shoulder, something to prove. And I think they're going to try to make it work, right? And again, you got two years to make this thing work. So year one, alright, cool. You might not win it. It's your first season together. Year two, after you get some cohesion, I think there's a case. But definitely within both years, we can expect them to be one of the favorites to win a title. Because their starting five is solid, and their bench looks to be pretty good too. So that can carry over for at least two seasons. Now, a couple quick fun facts to note. You know, they it's funny that they got LeBron James and LeBron Phylon Jr. in the same season, in the same offseason. Like I always when I saw LeBron's name, I was like, okay, that always reminds me of LeBron James. So it's just cool to see that they're on the same team. Also, let's imagine the 76ers winning a title, right? This would be the first time that the 76ers have won a title since 43 years ago. So this kind of goes with the New York Knicks theme, right? When the New York Knicks ain't won a title since 50-something years ago. So I think this would be a nice new team to win the NBA title, right? Like again, the Knicks last title. Also, this adds to the parody era. This would be now what? The since 2019, a new team has won the NBA championship and has not repeated, has not gone back to back. Nothing like that. The parody era, ladies and gentlemen. I think that's something to note. So again, I would like to see at least the 76ers win it. If not next year, the next season after that. And no repeats, too. Like, can we get to 10 teams back to back winning a title where there's no repeat winner? I'd like to see that personally.

Finals MVP Picks And Legacy Stakes

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But if the 76ers did win the championship, who's the finals MVP? Like for me, it's a jump ball because it's matchup dependent. Like, there's a world where Joel Embiid, Jalen Brown, Tyrese Maxie, and LeBron James could win finals MVP. VJ may be a bit of a stretch. I think that's yeah, I think that's a bit of a stretch right now. Put him as a long, long, long shot. And that's no disrespect. Because again, the roles that the other players are going to be playing, it's got to be noteworthy. Like, for example, Joel Embiid, he has to win finals MVP if he's going to continue to say trust the process. And if he's if he wants that to really mean anything, if he wants that to really hold any weight. And if he doesn't, I think people are going to say, well, the process just got lucky. Like there's pressure on Joel Embiid to win a championship. He he's arguably has the most pressure as a star to win a championship, to be clear. It's him and Luca with JT coming up or down the pipe. Like, and I've already talked about that on another episode, so you know if you want to listen to that, go ahead and listen to it. But he has pressure. Or imagine if Jalen Brown. Well, hold on. Look, I just focused, I just focused on the negative again. If he does win, I think that helps out his whole it it saves his whole career. His entire career gets saved. MVP, finals MVP. You can't talk about Joel Embiid anymore. You can't. Cool, you can say he had a good team, but again, he outclassed everyone on that team. He was the most dominant one on that team. That would help his legacy out for sure. So again, if MB wants to have that trusted process moniker going, you gotta win MVP, bro. Now if Jalen Brown wins MVP, well that's that that's actually fairly remarkable. Because we gotta talk about where that moves Jalen Brown in the NBA all-time rankings. You gotta think about it. Right? He's he's been a perennial time all-star. He's had some all-defensive seasons, some all NBA seasons. He has now two finals MVPs, and that would be on different teams. And when we think about it, it's only been Kawhi, Braun, and Kareem who have only who have won finals MVPs on different teams. Those are the three only players in the history of the NBA to do so. Brown would be joining that group, that name. That's pretty rare air. That's pretty good company right there, ladies and gentlemen. So again, for for Jalen Brown, especially when you just got traded by the Celtics, and they just said you you didn't deserve that $70 million. Well, maybe winning a finals MVP, hell, who knows? What if he wins another one? Like, what if he wins three finals MVPs? I mean, when we talk about shooting guards, I'm not saying you are better than Kobe Bryant, but you get what I'm saying? Like, Kobe only has two. That's more than what Jason Tatum has ever accomplished. So when we're talking about the Celtics, did you make the wrong trade? Did you trade the wrong guy? That's that's going to be something to talk about. So again, that's what Jalen Brown's legacy will have impacted. Now, with LeBron not winning finals MVP, how does that affect your GOAT discussion? Okay, like the role that he plays on this team, if the 76ers do win the championship, I don't know if he can be lower than the third option, which right now I have him pegged as the fourth option. And again, that's because you got Joel Embiid, Jalen Brown, and Tyrese Maxsey. Those are young guns. Outside of Joel Embiid, they're fairly healthy and pretty impactful. So again, LeBron, how does that affect his legacy? Because if he wins the championship, yes, it's your fifth. But when we talk about Kobe, we talk about Kareem, we talk about Jordan, we talk about Magic. Were they fourth options? Were they third options? That's very arguable. It's very arguable. So again, ladies and gentlemen, LeBron, if you're gonna win this championship, and we're talking about you in the GOAT discussions, that's gonna be interesting how those conversations are gonna go. Tyrese Maxie. It could even infect Tyrese because again, NBA guard ranking, right? Your short guards, they're coming back in style. Especially if they win it again, like back to back. He didn't lead the team, but to be clear, he'll be one of the better players on the team again. So there's gonna be a short guard impact, a short guard wave coming if Tyrese Maxie is able to win this championship. But if he if he wins finals MVP, though, that that'll be again rare air. We're talking about Isaiah Thomas, Steph Curry, and Jalen Brunson as they only guard 6'3 or below to lead their team to a championship. And he has the talent to lead their team to a championship. Like he can score the most on this team and playmake the most on this team. There's a world where that happens. And if that happens, especially in the NBA finals, what's the chances that he doesn't win finals? I'm just saying, like, that that puts him on another pedestal now. Hell, even VJ, I don't expect him to win a championship, right? But let's say he plays really well. I think there's a case that VJ would be a 76er for life. I genuinely do. And I've seen how we look at players like Harrison Barnes, and this is not a jab of Harrison Barnes at all. But Harrison Barnes at least gets some respect. When we're talking about the Spurs, we were saying that hey, they have players with playoff experience. So if VJ doesn't work out with the 76ers long term, other teams are going to want to utilize his services because he was on a championship team, especially at a young age. That's something you can parlay for your whole career. So again, ladies and gentlemen, a championship would impact all of these players quite nicely. Quite nicely. Like even Anthony Simons, if you're sixth man of the year and you're able to win a championship with this team, you are an impactful piece to the team. A team that has not won in over 43 years. That's going to change your career drastically. A championship for this team, ladies and gentlemen, can change a can it can change quite a few, quite a few players. The organization will be thrilled. Philly back on the map. I know they'd be excited.

Shooting Needs And Ego Management

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What do they need, though? Because it's not all sunshine or rainbows. I will say this. We are closing up the episode pretty soon, so you know we've got to talk about their needs last. I will say this. Sometimes I do, when I look at the roster, I do feel like they could use a little bit more shooting, right? Again, Anthony Simons on paper. Anthony and Tyrese are their best shooters. They're shooting 38% from three, which again, shooting is encompassed with like other areas too, but three-point shooting. Sniper-wise, it's Anthony and Tyrese. Contavious and Dean. They're at 37. You know what I'm saying? Like JB at 36. It would be nice if they had somebody who can shoot 40% from three. That'll really space open the floor. And that, and to be clear, that person is going to be able to get a lot of open shots, too. Especially if they pair them with like remove VJ and put a shooter on that team that's shooting 40%. You lose the perimeter defense for sure. For sure. But on offense, that person's gonna be like, who do you sag off on? It's like bring up the ball with Braun. You got Tyrese, Jalen, Joel Embiid. Although Joel don't shoot the best from three from the career, it's not like he can't knock down a three-ball, ladies and gentlemen. So again, like a 40% shooter would be nice. I think they have enough defense, personally. But their need, their biggest need is will their egos be in check? Now, granted, again, some people have a chip on their shoulder. I think a lot of them do, actually. Like Joel MB does, Jalen Brown does, Tyrese Maxie does, LeBron James does. So you want to showcase different things. Jalen Brown, he just said he wanted to be the guy. Tyrese Maxie. You just had a breakout season last year, another one. At some point in time, I'm sure you'd like for it to be your team. Joel MB, this has been your team for quite a while. So if another person just comes onto the scene and takes over, how are you going to like that? LeBron, you you're still in the GOAT conversation for some people. So if that's the case, can you afford to take a back seat? Because remember, players like Jordan, Kobe, even Timmy didn't quite take a back seat like this. Fourth option, that's tough. Third option is arguable. Like maybe Timmy did third one time, maybe. But it's tough, especially in the GOAT discussions. So can everybody keep their egos in check? That's gonna

Fan Questions And Closing Thoughts

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be interesting to note. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, LeBron James has signed with Philly. And for eight million dollars, too. For eight million dollars, he could have signed with the Lakers. It's not like I'm mad that he left. But if you were gonna do that, bro, you could have done that with us too. Like that could have worked out. But again, he's with the 76ers. So I'm curious, ladies and gentlemen, are you happy that LeBron James is on the 76ers? Was there a team that you wish he had played with outside of the 76ers? Do you think he made the do you think he made a wrong decision? Do you think the 76ers can win a championship within this two year window? Which year would it be? Year one, year two? Could they win? Could they go back to back? Let me know your thoughts. And also who would win finals MVP? I'm curious. But, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, like I said, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Good of Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.