The Philadelphia 76ers will task LeBron James with reprising the role he played when he last won an NBA Championship.
The 76ers have signed James for the veterans’ minimum and will now plug in the NBA’s all-time leading scorer into what looked like an already formidable roster.
To minimize any issues with the team adjusting to their new play style with additions like LeBron and Jaylen Brown, the 76ers might have a genius offensive strategy to maximize LeBron’s impact.
LeBron James expected to return to point guard with the 76ers
ESPN’s Shams Charania has revealed that the 76ers are expecting James to be the team’s point guard on offense next season as an extension of head coach Nick Nurse on the court.
“The 76ers are expecting LeBron to play a good amount of time at the point guard position on offense, initiating the game for Nick Nurse.”
“Tyrese Maxey played a lot on-ball last season, and we know his prowess as an off-ball scorer. Think of a better player (than LeBron) to set the table for Maxey, Jaylen Brown, Embiid, Edgecombe.”
Charania added that the last time James embraced playing as the point guard was the 2019-20 season, a year where he finished runner-up for MVP, led the league in assists, and won an NBA title.
James averaged 25.3 points, 10.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds in his lone season as full-time point guard.
LeBron James as a point guard might be the 76ers’ best way forward
Maxey. Embiid and Brown can all be high-usage stars, but they also have the experience of being extremely productive off-ball options.
Maxey and Embiid played alongside James Harden for multiple seasons. Harden led the league in assists while Embiid led the league in scoring, with Maxey thriving as a scoring guard.
LeBron is arguably the worst off-ball offensive player in the starting five, so using his high IQ and playmaking skills to have him orchestrate the offense for the elite scorers around him is perfect.
Nobody on this 76ers roster can claim to even be close to LeBron in terms of being a floor general, so this might allow Maxey, Brown, Embiid, and Edgecombe to thrive with one of the best passers in NBA history, creating selfless opportunities for them.
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