- Oct 16, 2026
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LeBron James played his first home game as a Philadelphia 76er on Friday, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds in a 125-120 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics.
The sellout crowd of 19,746 watched the 41-year-old James, beginning his NBA-record 24th season, connect with Tyrese Maxey for an alley-oop dunk. Maxey had influenced James to sign a two-year, league-minimum deal with Philadelphia in July after eight seasons with the Lakers. James described their bond as a connection the two share.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 20 points in his first game against the Celtics since being named 2024 NBA Finals MVP and later traded to Philadelphia. Brown said a decade with Boston means facing them will never feel routine. Joel Embiid still received the final introduction from PA announcer Matt Cord, who introduced James at 6-9 from St. Vincent-St. Mary's wearing No. 23.
James had sat out the home preseason opener but played in a public scrimmage and debuted at Brooklyn with 10 points, five assists and four rebounds. VJ Edgecombe was the only starter who did not play against Boston. Philadelphia opens its regular season Tuesday at New York and hosts Cleveland on Thursday.
Source: ESPN - Fri Oct 16, 11:12 PM ET
Written by the SportsMafia Wire desk in our own words from the original reporting (AI-assisted, checked against the source).