Latest / Best of: Features / LeBron James was balling, babysitting and putting on a fantastic show in 76ers' debut at scrimmage

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LeBron James was balling, babysitting and putting on a fantastic show in 76ers' debut at scrimmage · Best of: Features

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  LeBron James was bowling, babysitting, and putting on a fantastic show in
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  Seventy Sixers debut at Scrimmage. This
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  article is being read by an automated voice generated by Everlett. Philadelphia,
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  the AP, the seventy sixers public address announcer, ended a brief retirement
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  over the summer, in large part, to get behind the mic and
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  do what he did for the first time ahead of the team's
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  annual scrimmage. Matt Cord introduced LeBron James in the Sixers starting lineup.
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  At six nine from Saint Vincent Saint Mary's, number twenty three, LeBron
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  James, James. Close to ten thousand fans who plunked down ten dollars
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  a ticket on Saturday to essentially witness a glorified practice at the
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  Sixers home arena went wild for James debut. No, James didn't wear
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  number twenty three. He historically wore number six over his career in
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  practice gear, but with that number retired in Philadelphia because of Julius
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  Irving, James went with number nine. No, the Dunks and three S
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  and Assists didn't count in any official capacity, and no, James wasn't
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  even introduced last. That honor remained reserved for Joel and Bede. What
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  the new forty one year old on the block did do was
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  give, along with Embiid, Tyrese Maxie, Jalen Brown, and VJ Edgecombe, a
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  sneak preview that maybe, just maybe, the long underperforming Sixers might finally
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  rise to the moment this season and meet their championship expectations. It
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  was a great first step in a direction we're trying to go,
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  James said. It was great to near some cheers from our fans.
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  Sixers fans that crammed aisles and stairways trying to catch a first
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  glimpse or a snapshot of James were shooed back to their seats.
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  Vendors hawked James merchandise outside the arena and told fans they could
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  own the first pieces of his merchandise. Sixers fans that inched near
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  the court screamed and outright begged James to stop and turn around
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  and pose for pictures. They also crammed into team stores buying number
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  23 jerseys. The Sixers started the scrimmage early with what they hope
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  is a familiar sight. Maxie in transition hit James for an alley
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  oop dunk. James hung and swung on the rim for a
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  few seconds. James made a nifty behind the back pass to Edgecombe,
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  who missed a corner three, and even squared up and buried a
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  long three from about Caitlin Clark range. James did it all. He
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  even bounced Maxie's baby daughter Marvel on his knee for a moment
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  on the bench. No word yet on James hourly babysitting rate. Not
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  a bad first week in Philadelphia for the NBA's career scoring leader.
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  Everybody's been super welcoming, James said. I've been able to implement some
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  things with my voice and just my command of how I play
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  The game, and my experience playing the game. I'm still getting more
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  and more comfortable off the floor, with travel and without my family
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  and things of that nature. That's going to be a little bit
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  of a challenge, but everything's been good so far. Great first week.
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  The Sixers traditionally hold the scrimmage in Delaware on the home court
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  of their G League team. The Sixers donated five thousand tickets to
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  local community groups, and Sixers Youth Foundation grantee partners and more than
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  eighty thousand dollars was raised for the Sixers Youth Foundation. The ten
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  dollars tickets We're a deal. They are hovering around one thousand dollars
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  a ticket for the once hundred level on the secondary market for
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  the Sixers october twenty second home opener against Cleveland. James was expected
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  to play Monday in the first of four preseason James
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  and mark the start of his record twenty-fourth NBA season. It'd be
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  good to get out there with some of our guys to just
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  get a rhythm, James said. At the same time, also not overdo
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  it We're putting a lot into our practices right now. We're fine
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  tuning what we want to do once the game comes. I think
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  there will be opportunities once we get out there in the preseason.
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  Philadelphia open the season october twentieth in New York against the NBA
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  champion Knicks. James and the rest of the Sixers were encouraged that
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  the oft injured Embiid has been a full participant in camp, and
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  seems to be in leaner, lighter shape. Embiid pulled off a driving
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  left handed dunk in the scrimmage, and later joked. It was probably
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  the last dunk of my career. Jerseys flew off the racks, sixers
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  flew through the air, and excitement swirled around the team, and for
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  all that James brings to the city. They've welcomed me with open
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  arms, James said, and I'm getting more uncomfortable every day. See the
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  AP's full NBA coverage here.