Kevin Durant’s decision to join a 73-win roster sparked a league-wide debate about competitive balance that never fully died down. Now, 10 years later, this summer LeBron James joined the Philadelphia 76ers; the same debate has resurfaced, with coach Nick Nurse giving his take.
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Before he responded to that, the 76ers coach spoke on how he convinced LeBron to join the Philadelphia 76ers over the other possible suitors.
“I think he’s a great player, and I think we’re fortunate to have him on the team,” Nurse said on the Take Off with John Clark podcast. “And that’s kind of where I started. I said, I think you slot right in there perfectly.”
“We did talk about some multi-position situations, talked to him about, you know, just his leadership in general, his professionalism in general that could help, I think, raise the level of some things,” he added. “Talked about his late game play, things like that. That’s about it.”
The pitch worked. LeBron James signed a two-year, $8 million deal on July 24, on Nurse’s birthday. He joined Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and newly acquired Jaylen Brown in what’s become one of the most talked-about starting lineups in recent memory.
Shams Charania reported that Nurse was the only head coach who spoke directly with James throughout the three-week free agency process.
Kevin Durant compared it to his own 2016-17 Warriors team. They won a championship after Durant joined a roster featuring Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
“The last time they put three 20-point scorers on a team,” Durant said. “They said it was unfair, which was the [Warriors] team I was on. [The 76ers] have got four 25-point scorers on this team.” He added, “So, hell yeah, I think they’re going to be a contender. They’re going to be a fun team to watch. It’s going to be League Pass-worthy.”
Durant argued that the Sixers’ collection of Embiid, Brown, Maxey and James actually tops that Golden State group on paper. A take that got a response from Thompson and Green themselves.
Nurse responded to the Durant comparison, saying:
“Championship teams have a lot of similar characteristics. And the first thing is, is we need to get to work, right?” he said when asked about how he will handle the pressure that comes with Durant’s comparison. “I really still put hard work and work ethic and all that stuff at the top of the list if you want to win.
“Are we going to outwork our opponents, right? Are we going to watch better film, more film, spend more hours?”
Nurse referenced his championship plan from Toronto’s 2019 title run to make the point. He asserted that talent alone doesn’t win in June, calling it “a two-month-long process, but we just kept getting better. Each series better and better. And I think that’s the goal. And you just got to try to reach your ceiling.”
Not to mention, the coach seems to be exuding full faith in his team currently. Especially when it comes to James, he’s optimistic about how he’s going to adjust with the current dynamic.
Nurse opens up about what he plans for LeBron James
As we know, James is joining a Philadelphia 76ers core that includes Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe as the headline names. Not to mention, the broader roster around him has also been reshaped with players such as Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade, Dominick Barlow, Justin Edwards, Jabari Walker, Adem Bona, Ariel Hukporti and rookie Labaron Philon Jr. in the mix.
There’s a potential fit issue in Philadelphia because LeBron James is being asked to do two things at once: run the offense as a point guard and still preserve his scoring bursts and physical impact over a long season. Fans already know he can do that, but the concern is that with Maxey, Brown, Edgecombe and Embiid also needing touches, the Sixers could run into a little “whose turn is it?” friction if the spacing and usage aren’t managed cleanly.
Nick Nurse already has a plan though.
“He is an offense creator,” Nurse told NBC Philadelphia. “He is certainly a guy that will bring the ball up the floor and try to create for himself and others. He is really good for others. I always talk about how good a shooter Tyrese is. It’s good for him to be prepared for the catch-and-shoots and his long-range bombs!”
Maxey has become the heartbeat of Philly’s backcourt, and the numbers back it up. He was the 21st overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and he’s developed into one of Philadelphia’s most productive guards. Through his first five and a half seasons, he’s averaged 21.1 points and 4.8 assists across 388 regular-season games, while shooting 46.1% from the field, 37.9% from three and 87.2% at the line.
During the 2025-26 season, Maxey was named ‘Eastern Conference Player of the Week’ after averaging 33.5 points and 9.8 assists over four games from October 27 to November 2, and he followed that up with a career-high 54-point night against Milwaukee on November 20.
“At the right time, in the heat of the game,” Nick added. “I trust there won’t be ego and that they’ll all figure out together what to do for the good of the team.”
LeBron James is fourth on the NBA’s all-time assists list, behind John Stockton, Chris Paul and Jason Kidd. He averaged 7.2 assists in his final Lakers season, and his peak came in 2019-20 when he put up 10.2 assists per game. Now, his next test begins with the 76ers.
As Nurse put it, “Naturally, we’ll see the best way to manage that, but we have total confidence that our rotation can fill gaps and keep the offense flowing.”
Only time will tell what the outcome of this move will bring.