After LeBron James’s July 24 announcement, Philadelphia should give him the ball to start and connect actions—not to own every possession. Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown should keep their downhill opportunities, while Joel Embiid keeps receiving the ball in his preferred scoring areas. James can organize how they get there.

The Sixers need that distinction. Their new roster has five players who ranked among the NBA’s top 37 in touches per game. Brown ranked second in usage last season and Maxey 15th, yet only Boston and the Clippers assisted on a lower share of made field goals than Philadelphia. The problem is not a lack of creation. It is turning one player’s advantage into the next player’s clean catch.

James can bring the ball into an action, move the defense and release it before four teammates are left watching. The pass should find Maxey or Brown against a defense already shifting, or reach Embiid before the help settles.

His 2025-26 season showed that this role is plausible. James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists with a career-low 26.2% usage rate. He possessed the ball for 3.8 minutes per game, his lowest mark in 13 tracked seasons, and 53.9% of his makes were assisted—the first time at least half of them were.

The constraint is his 31.7% three-point shooting last season. Philadelphia cannot assume the spacing will hold whenever James moves off the ball; defenders leaving him could tighten the floor for Maxey, Brown and Embiid.

That gives training camp a clear test: how quickly does James move the ball, and what happens next? If the pass creates a better catch and he stays involved without immediately demanding the ball back, Philadelphia has its organizer. If the creators merely take turns, the floor will remain crowded.