The NBA world is caught up in the LeBron James free agency sweepstakes. Everyone’s waiting on his decision: where will the future Hall of Famer take his talents for a 24th season in the pros?
Recently, James made a public appearance at the Fanatics Fest in New York, where spectators in attendance naturally hung on to every word he said. One of them, or more like three of those words, stuck out possibly more than anything else that came out of the 41-year-old’s mouth.
James’ Comments Stir Up 76ers Rumors
In the NBA, certain words and phrases stand out more than others. For example, after Kevin Garnett won the NBA Finals in his first season with the Boston Celtics after 14 trying years with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he screamed, “Anything is Possible!” loud enough for the whole arena to hear.
Meanwhile, sometimes a phrase is born through the media. Like, when the Philadelphia 76ers got behind the “Trust the Process” phrase after struggling early on in the Joel Embiid rebuilding seasons.
Now, James seems to be embracing that saying, though it could have been an oversight or mistake. Then again, James is quite calculated with his intentions; is anything really a mistake?
Either way, he said those three identifying words, and when he did, the room roared.
“Most important is I want to compete at a high level,” James said. “I want to join a franchise that kind of shares the same model as myself. That’s why practicing championship habits every day, but trust in the process more than anything. You can trust the process of actually getting to that point.”
James acknowledged the elephant he brought into the room, and quickly pivoted away from that conversation.
“I’ve been saying trust the process since like 2003, I don’t know if Embiid was even born yet,” James joked.
For the record, Embiid was born in 1994; he was nine years old when James joined the league.
Then, James started having a bit of fun with the crowd, giving hope to all the remaining finalists for his services.
“So we got to trust the process. If we get to a place that’s real sunny…,” James trailed off before saying he can’t be entirely focused on his championship goals. As long as he takes the right steps, that process will take care of itself.
As LeBron James rattles off what he will value in his next team, he used the phrase “trust the process” and the crowd was sent into a tizzy, thinking he was giving a clue about the Philadelphia 76ers. pic.twitter.com/klpBWePWNq
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 17, 2026
James seems to be saying all the right things before making a final decision on his next course of action. But of course, he’s been here before.
Should he decide to team up with Embiid on the 76ers, everyone who was in attendance at Fanatics Fest will say, “I knew it!”
