In his heyday, few, if any, basketball players were better than Magic Johnson. After all, some still view the former Los Angeles Lakers legend as the best point guard of all time. Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson not only won a national championship in college at Michigan State, but he also led the ‘Showtime’ Lakers to five NBA championships while being named league MVP three times.
On Sunday, Johnson offered some commentary on the Philadelphia 76ers’ prospects after pairing Jaylen Brown and LeBron James together.
Magic Johnson Questions 76ers’ Fit With Jaylen Brown & LeBron James
Johnson has, understandably, remained an avid basketball fan since his retirement in 1996. He doesn’t often speak up, but when he does, it’s usually about the Lakers.
Now, he’s chiming in on the 76ers. Johnson posted a long, well-thought-out post on X, highlighting his curiosity about how the All-Star cast makes this group work.
“After trading for one of the best two way players in the league and NBA All Star Jaylen Brown, the Sixers then signed the biggest free agent on the market this summer, 4x NBA champion and future Hall of Famer LeBron James,” Johnson opined.
“LeBron makes the Sixers one of the best teams in the NBA and the biggest threat to the World Champion Knicks in the Eastern Conference.”
After trading for one of the best two way players in the league and NBA All Star Jaylen Brown, the Sixers then signed the biggest free agent on the market this summer, 4x NBA champion and future Hall of Famer LeBron James.
LeBron makes the Sixers one of the best teams in the NBA…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) July 27, 2026
The five-time NBA champion then highlighted one challenge that could be unique to their new-look, star-studded lineup.
“Philly’s starting lineup will have four All Stars, LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey, and offensively they will be great,” Johnson said. “But all four are used to having the ball in their hands, so I’m interested to see what type of offense Coach Nurse draws up.”
Then, Johnson posed two questions, perhaps aimed at head coach Nick Nurse, who will be tasked with keeping everyone’s heads on straight in Philadelphia.
“I have two big questions for Philly: one is on the defensive end, and two is their team chemistry,” Johnson said. “If they answer those two… watch out!”
Clearly, Johnson believes this new pairing can work. But they also face some challenges.
Defensively, the 76ers have one of the best post defenders in Joel Embiid, who has averaged 1.6 blocks per game over his 10-year career.
The question, of course, is whether the 32-year-old can stay healthy after being limited to just 38 games last season.
Yet, as Johnson also pointed out, the 76ers added one of the best two-way players in the league in Brown. He’ll help prevent extra traffic from getting in Embiid’s path, too.
Plus, it’s not like James is a defensive slouch. Sure, he’s now 41 years old, but he’s also a five-time First-Team All-NBA defender. Touted as having one of the highest basketball IQs in league history, James hasn’t suddenly forgotten how to stick to the team’s defensive keys.
The 76ers ranked 19th in opponent points allowed per game last season while getting less than half a season from Embiid. Now they’re adding Brown (while taking away Paul George) and James, too. It’s hard to imagine how the defense will get worse, especially if they can get more appearances out of Embiid.
As Johnson noted, if the 76ers can ensure they don’t have chemistry issues and avoid defensive lapses, “watch out.”
