How LeBron James Going to the 76ers Impacts the Pacers, Rest of East

LeBron James is entering his 24th season next year on a new journey: he is taking his talents from the 'City of Angels' to the 'City of Brotherly Love'.

That's right...the self proclaimed 'King' is heading back to the Conference he dominated for a decade as he approaches the end of his historic career.

The Indiana Pacers have built several strong contending teams, but like many other great franchises in the East, they ran into a LeBron James led team and fell short of reaching the NBA Finals. Now, these same organizations will potentially go through the King again, as he joins a stacked Philadelphia 76ers team who might have had the biggest upgrade in the offseason when they acquired the disgruntled Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics for Paul George.

The New Look Sixers

In addition to Jaylen Brown, the 76ers added sharp-shooting guard Anfernee Simons in free agency, as well as former Cleveland Cavalier, Dean Wade, who is known for his outside shooting and defense. Combining those two role players with the 41-year-old James makes them a dangerous threat to win the East.

On paper, you can make the case that the addition of LeBron makes the 76ers one of the deepest teams in the East, and it without question makes them a title favorite. However, there are several questions that will have to be answered throughout the season if this squad truly believes they can win it all.

Philly's Biggest Question Marks

First and foremost, Joel Embiid will have to stay healthy. Throughout his 12-year career he has missed a total of 490 games according to Stat Muse and has never made it past the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs.

The 76ers backup centers are Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti, two solid backup fives, but if Embiid goes down throughout the playoffs, Dean Wade will be asked to play a significant amount of time there unless a move is made to acquire more help. This could be a massive setback for the success of this team and will lead to potential Joel Embiid trade discussions throughout the season.

The other glaring question for this team is how does their defense holdup against the top teams in the conference. Tyrese Maxey is not a good on-ball defender, LeBron James has taken an expected step back, and VJ Edgecombe is still learning what it takes to be a top-tier defender in this league.

Philadelphia's backup guards are also heading into the season viewed as defensive liabilities: Anfernee Simons has been criticized for his lackluster defense throughout his career, and rookie LaBaron Philon is raw and unproven.

Evaluating the Rest of the East Against Philly

Brunson Maxey — May 10, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) looks on against New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) in the second quarter during game four of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Established point guards in the conference -- like Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, James Harden, Derrick White, etc. -- will have a heyday going up against this collection of guards. You will also see teams use their star wings -- such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum, Pascal Siakam, etc. -- to hunt mismatches in the pick-and-roll.

The East is clearly turning into a much deeper conference than it has been the last couple of years, and I view teams with established cores as the likely favorites throughout the regular season. New York kept most of their core intact aside from the departures of Mitchell Robinson to the Celtics, and Hukporti to Philadelphia. Indiana is bringing most of their core group back that made the NBA Finals in 2025, but figuring out the fit of Ivica Zubac and seeing how Tyrese Haliburton looks after missing 16 months of NBA action with his Achilles injury will take some time.

Orlando brought back Nikola Vucevic to strengthen their center depth with the departure of Mo Wagner to Brooklyn and are hoping that a coaching change bolsters their team like the Cavaliers saw when Kenny Atkinson took over for J.B. Bickerstaff in 2024. Atlanta was the biggest threat to the eventual champions last playoffs, and they made smart moves to bring in wing depth, defensive versatility, and added two players in the first round of the NBA Draft.

Cleveland is the last team that hasn't made any moves in free agency other than bringing back Thomas Bryant, as they were hoping (and praying) that LeBron would return home. They lost Dean Wade, Keon Ellis, and Larry Nance Jr. in free agency this offseason and have reportedly explored trades of Max Strus and Jarrett Allen.

Toronto, Miami, Boston, and Detroit have made bigger changes to their cores -- which could hurt where they land overall in the standings -- but as the season prolongs and they establish chemistry, they could become some of the most dangerous teams in the conference during the stretch run as teams are gearing up for the playoffs.

Deep Dive on the Pacers Roster Compared to the 76ers

Hali Maxey — Jan 18, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

From a Pacers perspective, I think they matchup favorably with Philly. The battle of the Tyrese's at the point guad spot is a clash of styles, but one I would give the advantage to the Pacers on, assuming Haliburton is healthy. Nembhard is one of the best role players in the entire NBA, and although Edgecombe is only scratching the surface for what he can become, I give Indiana a slight edge because of Nembhard's elite defense, playmaking abiltities, and experience.

The Sixers do have the upper hand without question at the small forward spot. Aaron Nesmith is a tenacious defender and will give Jaylen Brown fits in a head-to-head matchup, but Brown is an All-NBA player who is head-and-shoulders above Nesmith. For the power forward spot, as great as LeBron has been, Pascal Siakam in his prime gets the slight advantage with his elite two-way abilities.

At the center spot, when healthy, Joel Embiid is a better overall player than Big Zu. But how many times do we have to mention the never-ending health issues with Embiid? For a 7-game series you can make the case that Ivica Zubac could have more of an impact than Embiid, but if we don't factor injuries, Embiid is better.

Indiana's bench is leaps and bounds better than Philly's, especially now that they've added Kelly Oubre Jr. into the mix. Wade and Simons are sturdy bench pieces for the Sixers, but the rest of their bench depth feels shaky.

In addition to Oubre Jr., Indiana has game-changing veteran guard, T.J. McConnell, steadying the ship. Running the floor next to him is the uber-athletic Obi Toppin -- who has proven to be a key cog in the Pacers wheel of playoff success. And at the end of the Pacers depth, you have potential wild card difference makers like Jarace Walker, Johnny Furphy, and Quenton Jackson as well as stable pieces in Ben Sheppard, Jay Huff, and Larry Nance Jr.

Final Thoughts

LBJ Nembhard — Mar 25, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) defends against Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) during the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Pacers have the 8th best odds to win the East at +4000 after LeBron James decision to join the Sixers and were ranked 15th in the latest ESPN Power Rankings. That's okay, this is when the Pacers are at their best. Overlooked, underrated, and under the radar.

LeBron is a sensational player and his addition to any team will help their chances of winning, but the East is going to be a bloodbath. There will be wars on the court every single night, but I expect the Pacers to get the upper hand more often than not.

You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.

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