LeBron James‘ move to the Philadelphia 76ers has brought new hope of breaking the championship drought dating back to 1983. But questions regarding the 22x All-Star’s role with the team are now prevalent. And a former teammate of both Bron and Joel Embiid set the expectations straight.

“When you put LeBron James in this situation, to me, he’s the fourth option,” said Patrick Beverly on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “He was the third option last year, and he had a ton of success, right? Now you get him as the fourth option, right? He’s the fourth option. To me, it’s always Embiid (first option). Now it’s Jaylen Brown, then it’s Maxey, then it’s LeBron James.

“Maybe you can toss it up the other way, but in that pecking order, those are the way things look. He’s the fourth option. You name your fourth option, that’s LeBron James.”

Beverly shared the locker room with James during the 2022-23 season, where the Lakers lost the West Finals. His comparison of Bron being the fourth option stems from last year’s Lakers experience, when the 4x NBA champion was the third option behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. There was no ego; the forty-one-year-old did what the team demanded. Even with the Sixers, Pat Bev expects the same and explained how important Embiid can be.

“But just being pure dominant, I’m going Joel Embiid. I’ve never seen a player like that in my entire life. He gave Wemby 70. Gave Wemby 70, right? You talk about a guy whose knee was tore up half the season, 70, right? So I think you get a healthy Embiid, and anyone in the NBA understands this. You get a healthy Embiid, you have a chance to win a championship.”

Beverly played alongside Harden, Leonard, James, Giannis, and Embiid. But he called Joel Embiid the most dominant and expects the 32-year-old center to step up this season. In fact, even LeBron James made his move to the 76ers after inquiring about the former MVP’s health.

“James has long admired Embiid’s talent and basketball IQ, sources close to him said. But like many in the league, he had questions about Embiid’s durability,” Ramona Shelburne wrote.

Concerns are valid since Embiid had just 57 games of appearance over the past two regular seasons. In fact, James played more games last year than Embiid managed across the previous two regular seasons combined. After clearing his concerns, James is now in Philly and could play a familiar role to help the team.

“The Sixers, I’m told, are expecting LeBron James to play a good amount of time and period of time at the point guard position, on offence, initiating the game, the offence, for Nick Nurse,” Charania said. Even though Maxey thrived with PG responsibilities last year, he’s not a natural playmaker. James was a point guard during the 2019-2020 NBA season.

He led the league in assists, averaging 10.2 a game. So, LeBron James doesn’t have to be the scoring threat he has been his entire career. He can control the offense and be a facilitator for Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, and Maxey.