Sixers Reveal How They Swayed LeBron James in Free Agency This Summer

The Sixers' behind-the-scenes recruitment process played a heavy role in luring LeBron James to the City of Brotherly Love this offseason.

According to Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey, he always believed the team had a chance to sway LeBron, even if his decision-making process took a while.

During an interview on the Phillies' broadcast earlier this week, Gansey said there were two important aspects in LeBron picking Philly: He was already familiar with some of the players, and the Sixers had a competitive squad.

Mike Gansey on Phillies broadcast on luring LeBron James to Philly

"The Jaylen Brown trade, if that doesn't happen I don't think we get that.

Our players did a great job. Tyrese, Joel, Nick [Nurse], our ownership, everyone tried to talk to him and sell him on Philly." pic.twitter.com/KUdb3mCIHj
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) August 4, 2026

"I always thought we'd be in the mix there just because we had a team that could really contend with him," Gansey said. "And obviously his relationship with some of the players. Our players did a great job—Tyrese (Maxey), Joel (Embiid), Nick (Nurse), our ownership everyone tried to talk to him and sell him on Philly."

Gansey remained relentless throughout LeBron's free agency. Even when rumors grew that he might return to one of his former teams, Gansey kept the hammer to the nail.

LeBron and Embiid have previously shared the court during All-Star games and in the 2024 Olympics, where they won a gold medal together. Gansey was so intrigued by the potential pairing that he went back and watched footage of them in the Olympics. He wanted to get an idea of how the two could play together and mesh on the floor.

"When LeBron was maybe a possibility," he told ESPN, "I went back and watched some of the Olympic tape with him and LeBron. Those two played pretty well together."

One of the other players LeBron had a relationship with was Maxey, who shares the same agent as LeBron. On Maxey's end, he didn't need to do much to persuade the 41-year-old.

“Not many. It wasn’t a lot of convincing. Couple phone calls, couple texts. He’s a lot older than me, but I guess we’re friends 😂 “

-Tyrese Maxey says it didn’t take a lot for him to recruit LeBron James to come to the Sixers. Tyrese says the group chat is very cool with the… pic.twitter.com/rBJkrn63yN
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 6, 2026

"Not many, not many," he said about how many texts and calls it took to get LeBron on board. "It wasn't a lot of convincing. There were a couple phone calls, couple texts."

The ongoing waiting period

The front office needed to be patient throughout the seemingly never-ending waiting game. With a new rumor popping up every day about where LeBron would sign, Gansey experienced a range of emotions.

"It was exciting, nerve-racking, you know, because at some point it's like, 'Man, just make a decision,'" Gansey laughed. "But obviously we wanted to give him space, which he rightfully deserves."

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse also offered a pitch to entice LeBron to come to Philly. Nurse focused on how LeBron would fit in with the team and the value he would add to the roster.

"He's a great player and I think we're fortunate to have him on the team."

Check out the latest Takeoff podcast here: https://t.co/WB3lHyLWiS 📺 | @Make_putt pic.twitter.com/CIDhk4tQfx
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) August 5, 2026

"He's a great player, and we're fortunate to have him on the team, and that's where I started," he shared on NBC Sports Philadelphia'sTakeoff With John Clark.

"I said I think you slot right in there perfectly. We did talk about some multi-position situations. Talked to him about his leadership and professionalism in general that could help raise the level of some things. Talked about his late-game play, things like that."

The impact of signing Jaylen Brown

Perhaps what was the primary impetus for LeBron's decision was the shocking trade the Sixers pulled off in early July. After Philadelphia acquired five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown, Gansey believes the tides really turned in their favor.

Had Philly never done the deal to land him, Gansey doesn't think LeBron would have signed with the Sixers. Talent-wise, adding the NBA champion to the roster gave the team a competitive edge.

Once Gansey brought along Brown, he checked in with LeBron's agent, Rich Paul.

Mike Gansey talking about how getting Jaylen Brown opened the door for LeBron

"I called Rich [Paul] right away and said 'hey, we got Jaylen, is there a chance LeBron wants to come to us?' 'This changes some things'.

We don't get LeBron without Jaylen." pic.twitter.com/dBZMbMprvE
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) August 4, 2026

"I called Rich right away and said, 'Hey, we got Jaylen. Is there a chance LeBron would want to come to us?' They said, 'Yeah, this changes some things.'"

"They talked about it, and the whole process of three weeks or whatever it went they were doing all their due diligence with LeBron and talking to our players and other teams; their representation stuff. So it was a long process, but we don't get LeBron without Jaylen, that's for sure."

No looking back

Who knows where LeBron would have gone if the Sixers didn't get Brown. Maybe he would have gone elsewhere, or maybe he still would have come to Philly.

Luckily for Gansey and the entire Sixers organization, it doesn't matter now. All that matters is that they added arguably the greatest player of all time to their team.

"He waited as long as he could," Gansey said. "I'm just glad he's a Sixer."

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