CHICAGO – On July 24, 2026, at 11:30 a.m., about 20 Sixers employees spanning all branches of the organization worked to finalize plans on a Microsoft Teams call. Representatives from basketball operations, communications, marketing, social media, player engagement, security and ticket sales had convened to discuss Jaylen Brown's upcoming introductory press conference. Suddenly, one communications executive unmuted their microphone to deliver news that would change all of their lives.

"LeBron James is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers."

Typically, even with a move as significant and shocking as the trade the Sixers swung with the Boston Celtics three weeks prior to land Brown, whispers of the deal circulate around the organization before it comes together. But James famously kept his intentions under wraps over the course of what may have been his final free agency. The Sixers felt like they were contenders to sign James, but even they couldn't have known that they were about to punctuate a dream offseason by signing the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

"It wasn't celebration," Dave Sholler, Chief Communications Officer of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, said. "It was almost a bit of awe, a little bit of shock. And then about 90 seconds after the post hits and it marinates, everyone starts getting fired up."

Most within the Sixers were still trying to process that Brown, a rival of 10 years, was now going to be wearing their uniform. That James would be, too, provided an even greater shock.

At about 11:35 a.m., Sholler logged off the meeting. He took a call from new Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey, whose first transaction cycle as a lead executive had turned into a grand slam. He had not just acquired arguably the best basketball player of all time, but he had done so without sacrificing any spending power, as James agreed to sign a veteran's minimum contract. On top of adding a terrific player, Gansey added someone that everybody else in the organization could take cues from.

"He elevates everything," Sholler said. "...And when you see him every day putting in the work, whether it's his strength and conditioning, whether it's his prehab, whether it's his recovery, whether it's the shots he gets up, whether it's getting to the gym before just about anybody else in the facility, you see how he's been able to do it nearly 42 years now. And that raises the standard for everybody just by presence, just by osmosis."

Gansey was part of a small group of people to hear the news a few minutes earlier via text from Rich Paul, James' agent and the CEO of Klutch Sports, moments before the rest of the world learned online. Before Sholler could finish getting up to speed with Gansey so he could begin meeting with James' camp, his Brigantine neighbor started banging on his door.

"Is it true?"

"We got him," Sholler mouthed.

Prosper Karangwa was in Albany, driving to Siena University. He once played college basketball there, and now it is where his eight-year-old son goes to basketball camp over the summer. Karangwa's son described euphoria at the camp when the news broke.

"LeBron is his GOAT," Karangwa said. "So that kind of excitement, to get to share that with my son, who's a big huge, huge basketball fan, was pretty cool... They know what I do. So everyone was jumping around like, 'Oh, your dad's team got LeBron.' It was incredible."

Karangwa's phone blew up, and given his international ties, he was hearing from people all over the globe. "I got more text messages for when he decided than when I got the job," he said, with those texts coming from anywhere from Canada to Europe to Africa.

Karangwa, in his seventh year with the Sixers – he was promoted to Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Player Personnel over the summer after being courted by other teams – has had significant influence over the team's crop of young depth pieces. He believes James' presence has already set a strong tone for those youngsters.

"It is incredible, his thought process and the way he views the game. So you hope these guys absorb it and listen and learn. But the biggest thing too is — because most guys, to get to this level, they've been really good workers. They've dedicated their lives to this sport. Once you realize there's another level of work and then after this level, there's a whole other level to get to the level of professionalism and attention to detail and commitment, day in and day out, that LeBron has had. You just hope that it rubs off on everyone – players, staff, everyone. Especially for the young guys to see this level of commitment this early in your career is really impressive and so positive." – Prosper Karangwa

Confidence in the direction of the Sixers had waned over the last two-plus years. Injuries piled up and so did questions. Every Sixers executive agreed that those recent trials and tribulations made the summer's fireworks all the more gratifying.

"I think the reality of it is any moment you get a player of the caliber of LeBron – or JB – it changes the perspective of the organization and everyone that's involved," Karangwa said. "But the most rewarding thing for me, honestly, has been just for our fan base to be able to experience this as well… The level of excitement around the team and his arrival and JB's arrival has been pretty cool to see. But the impact is real, right? Like, those guys have a way to change their people's view on a team pretty quickly."

MORE: How LeBron is making Joel Embiid's life easier

Sixers rookie Labaron Philon Jr. and his brother woke up in Miami and turned on ESPN. 

When the Sixers drafted Philon, their team was built around Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. In a month and a day, the roster had totally transformed. The George-for-Brown trade was done. When Philon and his brother turned their television on, they found out James was coming to Philadelphia, too.

"You get to be around somebody that good," Philon said, "that can help you with things as a young player."

Most NBA rookies do not get to learn from the most tenured player in league history. Most NBA rookies do not play on the most significant national attraction in the league. Most NBA rookies do not share a locker room with stars at every single position.

How has Philon approached it so far?

"Picking up the things that they do and the things that they have in their routine and how they go about their day," Philon said. "Learning from a distance is really a great thing, but asking questions for sure. I feel like just picking up the things they do during the day and [I] can carry that on for my future career."

Kate Scott got off her chiropractor's table and had too many texts. Something had to have happened.

"I thought somebody died," Scott said, "or somebody got fired. Maybe me."

But the Sixers had in fact made a high-profile hire. Scott learned of James' arrival and exclaimed in the middle of the chiropractor's office.

"Holy sh*t," Scott said. "We got LeBron."

The entire room rejoiced. Scott did, too. Then she walked to her car and sat there for a while, pondering the extent to which the complexion of her career was about to change.

With James comes his millions of fans – folks who, a handful of months ago, might not have been able to name any of the Sixers' reserves, but for the time being will be diehard Sixers fanatics. Every basketball fan has interest in how this will go. That means NBC Sports Philadelphia's Scott-led broadcast will be seen and heard by more people than ever this season, locally and even internationally.

James' decision brings tremendous opportunity for Scott and the rest of the people in the media landscape surrounding the Sixers. Scott is grateful for the opportunity and has given more consideration than she normally would to the appetites of viewers who are not longtime Sixers fans. But, particularly given the tumultuous nature of the last few years, those are the people she thought of first when the news broke.

"I don't even factor myself into the equation. I am so incredibly excited for Sixers fans. I am so incredibly excited for Tyrese Maxey and other folks who have been in this organization and have been through the tremendously difficult roller coaster of the last few seasons and beyond, I am so excited for all of them. They love this team so much, and it finally feels like this team is reflecting that love back to them this season. And that is what I am most excited about. One of the major reasons I wanted to come take on this massive challenge of becoming the voice of the Philadelphia 76ers was because of the fanaticism of our fan base. They're the absolute best. They love this team, whether they're winning 24 games or they're starting the season 8-1. And I wanted to go on this ride with all of them. So I am just so overwhelmingly excited that they have this hope and this excitement to start the year, and really looking forward to going on this ride in the next few years with them and seeing it through their eyes." – Kate Scott

Considering James' well-documented love of the links, it is ironic that two of his new teammates were golfing when his decision came down.

Dominick Barlow's phone suddenly erupted with notifications at a South Jersey course. "I was wondering if it was, like, an emergency or something," he said.

"It's a surreal feeling," Barlow continued, "because as long as I've been alive, he's been in the NBA – at the face of it, pretty much. Him being on our team, he's obviously going to help us a lot. But I'm excited to see the process that he goes through every day and try to pick his brain as much as possible."

Just a few weeks in, James' impact has been palpable. Earlier this season, Maxey called James a "calming presence" after he staved off a New York Knicks comeback with two clutch shots in the final minute and change.

That is why Dean Wade, on a golf course at the same time as Barlow, did not fret when a starting power forward job with his name on it slipped away.

"My phone was playing music and my wife called," Wade said. "She was like, 'Look at your phone.'"

Wade described the scene on the course as "madness."

"It was unexpected, but I was super excited," Wade said. "It was pretty cool."

James has already provided a unique confidence in moments that would typically throw the Sixers for a loop. He has been in every situation so many times that nothing alarms him. He connects all of the pieces on this roster, from the star-studded starting lineup to a revamped bench led by Wade, who raved about James' "unbelievable" basketball IQ on Friday morning in Cleveland.

"It said LeBron to the Sixers," Walker said. "I was like, 'Oh, wow.' I stopped my workout."

For much of his career, Walker has shared locker rooms with fellow young players. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to play with decorated veterans last season, and now he is teammates with the most decorated player of all time. Walker has been a keen listener whenever James talks.

"It always makes sense. He's not talking just to talk," Walker said during the preseason. "Very direct, very meaningful, very impactful, and so he just commands the room. You see why LeBron is so respected, and why he's done the things he's done... He always has a solution for everything. That's the way I feel. If I don't know something, I'm going to Bron."

Caleb Love, signed to a two-way contract this summer, was also training when he heard the news. "Grew up watching him, and he's in a lot of my memories," Love said.

Love and Walker asked themselves the same question during those workouts. "How do I fit with him?"

"You want to raise your level," Love said, "because you are playing with one of the greats, and you want to stay sharp and you want to be on that same level as far as your work."

Walker thought a bit more granularly.

"Okay, yeah, let me get some more corner threes," Walker told his trainer. "Forget everything else. Corner threes. He's going to pass it to the corner."

Ned Cohen was in a small town in Norway with his wife and children when the texts came in. His kids are young, but old enough to have started "grasping" the gravity of the moment, he said.

Cohen, a former executive in the NBA league office, is in his 11th year with the Sixers and ninth as an assistant general manager. Gansey is the third permanent Sixers shot-caller he has worked with. He has seen a whole lot during his time in Philadelphia. He said he has appreciated the chance to not just work with James, but the team of people around to support him.

"LeBron deserves all of the credit for his achievements and the historic career he's had to this point," Cohen said. "But he has a team, a number of individuals who have worked with him, who have joined the organization as well. And not only with LeBron, but with some others who joined, the opportunity to learn from them through experiences, habits, perspectives has raised the bar... It's good fortune, and it's a great opportunity."

Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice

LeBron James has made everyone within the Sixers organization strive for better.

Anyone even tangentially connected to the Sixers might have needed to restart their phone because of how many texts came through on July 24. Cohen is no different.

"Whirlwind is a great way of putting it," Cohen said. "Another great byproduct of that was connecting with a bunch of friends and others that I hadn't been in touch with in some time. Heard from and continue to hear from a lot of people – which is awesome, how sport brings people together. For me, my mind immediately went to, ‘Okay, we need to move forward with the contract.' In Norway, with the time difference of dealing with LeBron's representatives in Los Angeles, we coordinated that through those time differences for me over the following days. But yeah, it was not tough keeping odd hours working on that."

Matt Cord had just announced his retirement following a 28-year run as the Sixers' public address announcer. He went to dinner with a friend from the basketball world. Cord asked his friend if there was any chance that James would actually pick the Sixers. No, the friend said, because James would not be able to golf during the winter if he came to Philadelphia.

As Cord hosted his show on WMMR on the morning of July 24, that friend sent him a text: "I was wrong."

Minutes later came the news that compelled Cord to come out of retirement. James was signing with the Sixers. He went over to 97.5 The Fanatic's studio and took a crack at introducing James live on the air. Then came a whole lot of encouragement, particularly from the subject of Cord's most iconic call.

"Everyone texted me," Cord said. "I got so many text messages that day LeBron made his announcement. That was the day that [Allen] Iverson texted me, too, saying 'I think you should come back.'"

MORE: Takeaways from Sixers' 2-1 road trip

For about seven weeks, Cord was inundated with the same four words, over and over.

"'Are you coming back?' That was just the phrase," Cord said. "Are you coming back? It wasn't like, 'Hey, don't come back,' or, 'Great, you retired!' It was just, 'Are you coming back?'"

Cord reached out to the Sixers about returning for his 29th season soon after the news broke; he was prepared to give it strong consideration if James indeed signed. For nearly two months, he experienced daily interrogations from fans and friends alike: "Are you coming back?"

• MORE SIXERS
• Jabari Walker proud to earn Sixers fans' 'trust and respect' with his hustle plays
  
• 10 opinions about the 2026-27 Sixers
  
• Sixers vow to 'pour confidence' into Joel Embiid amid shooting struggles
  

Cord is back, announcing James' name in the same style he called that of Jumaine Jones, one of his all-time favorites. After a tumultuous few years, Cord said he has been energized by the incredible atmospheres at Sixers games this season. Every home game so far has had a playoff intensity to it – with a capacity crowd to boot.

"My job's always so much easier when the crowd is behind us," Cord said. "Everyone is together, you know? I feed off the crowd. I mean, that's my thing. I still try to think I do a good job no matter if there's 20 people or 20,000, but when there's 20,000 there, it's a lot easier for some reason. You feel like you're doing a better job. The crowd helps without a doubt. So that's been the big difference this year."

Perhaps the struggling Eagles should be credited with an assist too, but with James on board, the Sixers have become a far more significant topic of discussion around these parts than they have been during this time of year in a long while.

"Everywhere I go now, people want to talk Sixers," Cord said. "In Wawa, or people at work that are not really sports fans, or friends and family. And, you know, it's really neat."