LeBron James had a Lakers problem the 76ers are built to avoid

LeBron James going to the Philadelphia 76ers is not only the biggest story this offseason, but also perhaps its most sensible one. The megastar is widely reckoned as a perfect fit for the team, and even better, the squad is perfectly built to erase one serious concern he reportedly dealt with back when he was with the Lakers last season –– deferring to his other co-stars, specifically Austin Reaves.

As recently bared by The Athletic’s Law Murray, James had an “internal conflict” happening with how much he had to defer to Reaves last season. While he understood that Luka Doncic was the alpha, he seems to have had a difficult time playing third fiddle behind the less accomplished Reaves. Fortunately for The King, that should no longer be an issue for him with the 76ers.

The 76ers are perfectly built to erase a major LeBron James concern

Philadelphia has an even more loaded lineup than the Lakers from last season, but the striking difference is the fact that the 76ers’ stars are all used to deferring, and that LeBron is already expected to man the point guard duties for the group. Jaylen Brown used to defer to Jayson Tatum for nearly a decade, while both Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid acceded to each other (and James Harden a few years back).

Unlike the Lakers, the 76ers do not have anyone aside from LeBron who can run the offense as a heavy-duty playmaker. Maxey has made strides on that front, but he is still more effective as a combo guard who causes damage without always having the ball in his hands as a three-level scorer. Both Embiid and Brown will also benefit from having more secondary duties on the ball.

Doncic and Reaves are both efficient scorers and playmakers, but neither of them were comfortable operating without the ball. That probably made it difficult for James to assert himself at times and get his natural rhythm as a bucket-getter and table-setter. That should change now that the 76ers will have entirely different characters around him who are capable of yielding to the way he reads the floor.

The 76ers clearly have a lofty ceiling as a scoring unit next season by virtue of their sheer talent. But with LeBron James running the show with fewer hindrances this time, the squad should also have a more adaptable and less predictable scoring attack.