The LeBron James era in Los Angeles is officially in the rearview mirror, and Luka Doncic wasted no time introducing himself as the new face of the city.
Ahead of Wednesday night's season opener against the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers' superstar made an instant impression on everyday fans before even stepping onto the court.
Doncic bought out an entire parking lot outside Crypto.com Arena to give fans free parking and teamed up with Metro Bike Share to hand out free rides across Los Angeles all day long.
If you have ever tried driving into downtown Los Angeles on a game night, you know parking alone can feel like a shakedown.
Dropping 50 bucks just to leave your car on cracked asphalt for three hours is enough to ruin an evening before it even starts.
Anyone hoping Luka's generosity would carry over to the concession stands inside would be sorely disappointed. Free beer is definitely not on the menu, and you are still going to pay 20 dollars for a draft and 10 bucks for a soda once you clear security.
Taking a family of four to a ballgame is still a heavy hit on the bank account. Still, the gesture sends a clear message that this is Luka's team now.
For years, Lakers basketball was the LeBron show, complete with all the celebrity drama, roster turnover, and constant circus that came with it. With James gone, the keys to the most famous franchise in basketball belong entirely to Doncic.
Coming off a frustrating hamstring injury that cut his 2025-26 season short, he enters this fresh campaign with an enormous chip on his shoulder and the weight of 17 championship banners on his back.
Free parking and pedal bikes build quick goodwill, but hanging banner 18 is the only thing that truly matters. Wednesday night against Golden State is just the opening chapter of the Luka era.
LeBron James played spoiler against the New York Knicks on their championship banner night in his first game of his unprecedented 24th NBA season, but not before getting into a war of words with a fan.
Late in the second quarter, Jalen Brunson was shooting free throws as the brand-new Philadelphia 76ers star got heated with someone sitting near the sidelines.
It's not clear what provoked James to get angry, but it seems like it had to do with where he's from and/or previously lived.
"Ain't nothing soft in the Midwest, I don't know what the f--- you talking about," James, an Akron, Ohio, native said.
The conversation took a turn when James, who just got finished playing eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, mentioned what is now his former home.
"I'm not from the west coast, I'm from Ohio baby. I'm not a midwest kid - I'm an Ohio baby. F--- is you talking about?"
The NBC broadcast, via the New York Post, said that the exchange came as fans were taunting James over his helicopter use, which has become rather controversial. James’ brand deal with Fanatics includes use of the company’s corporate aviation, and he has been using it to commute from his new home in New York to Philadelphia for practices.
James recently said it was "just another way of transportation."
During an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made clear that there was no reason to be concerned about either the arrangement between James and Fanatics or potential salary-cap circumvention.
"He has a deal with Fanatics," Silver said just hours before the Detroit Pistons rallied for a comeback win over the Boston Celtics to tip off the new season. " . . . Part of his deal is they're going to supply a helicopter to him as long as it's just a deal between the Fanatics and LeBron and no team is involved; there's no rules issue there whatsoever."
Naturally, James' first game of the season was at Madison Square Garden, so he had a much shorter commute.
After signing with the Sixers in free agency, James decided his primary residence would be in the country's largest city. He is not the first NBA player to do so while playing for Philadelphia. Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick also lived in New York during his two seasons with the Sixers. But James’ decision to make the routine trip by helicopter has drawn particular attention.
Instead of quietly eating the reprint bill, the Knicks posted the evidence and let the internet have its way with them. Then again, misprints make fortunes in coin collecting. Maybe MSG didn't blow the giveaway so much as hand 20,000 fans a collector's item.
For good measure, they also hung their NBA Cup banner to crowd the rafters.
When that 2025-26 banner finally joins 1970 and 1973 to mark the franchise's third championship, it officially closes a miserable half-century drought, cementing this team into New York sports immortality.
Keeping that crown will be a nightmare. The East got a lot meaner over the summer, headlined by LeBron James taking his talents to Philadelphia. LeBron hunting one last ring with the Sixers feels cooked up specifically to ruin New York's party.
For now, the Knicks are on top of the basketball world.
The helicopter that new 76ers superstar LeBron James uses to commute between New York and Philadelphia remains a topic of conversation in NBA circles. Just ahead of the league’s 2026-27 season, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver characterized the Fanatics-branded aircraft and the financial structure of the arrangement as "perfectly appropriate."
James played in the Sixers’ preseason finale Friday and was asked about the chatter surrounding his preferred method of travel on days when he needs to commute from the team’s facility to New York City.
"Yeah, I’ve done it before," and described the rotorcraft as "just another way of transportation."
Fanatics, which was founded by former 76ers minority owner Michael Rubin, is covering the costs associated with transporting James on the roughly 40-minute, one-way trip.
According to multiple reports, James’ estimated commute costs for Sixers home games are expected to total just under $1 million this season, depending on how often he uses the helicopter. The Athletic calculated that flying James to and from 41 home games at $4,000 per flight would create a $328,000 tab. That figure does not include trips for practices, though it also does not account for flight cancellations.
In 2022, Rubin said he decided to sell his stake to "ensure our new businesses don’t conflict with my responsibilities as part-owner of the Sixers."
Rubin said in June 2022 that he decided to sell his stake "to ensure our new businesses don’t conflict with my responsibilities as part-owner of the Sixers." Rubin was part of the ownership group that purchased the 76ers for an estimated $290 million in 2011. But as Fanatics expanded into sports betting and other business ventures, Rubin decided it was time to sell his estimated 10% stake in Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.
Rubin continues to be a self-described "life-long fan" of the team.
During an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Silver made clear that there was no reason to be concerned about either the arrangement between James and Fanatics or potential salary-cap circumvention.
"He has a deal with Fanatics," Silver said just hours before the Detroit Pistons rallied for a comeback win over the Boston Celtics to tip off the new season. " . . . Part of his deal is they're going to supply a helicopter to him as long as it's just a deal between the Fanatics and LeBron and no team is involved; there's no rules issue there whatsoever."
After signing with the Sixers in free agency, James decided his primary residence would be in the country's largest city. He is not the first NBA player to do so while playing for Philadelphia. Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick also lived in New York during his two seasons with the Sixers. But James’ decision to make the routine trip by helicopter has drawn particular attention.
After 76ers practice has wrapped and news conferences are underway, James’ teammates have occasionally paused and laughed as the noise from his helicopter taking off from the roof of the team’s business center briefly drowns out their responses.
The 76ers visit Madison Square Garden to face the reigning champion New York Knicks Tuesday night.
While most fans in the stands at Madison Square Garden are looking forward to the New York Knicks lifting their first NBA title banner in 53 years on Tuesday night, there will be a minority excited for this new chapter with the Philadelphia 76ers, which will feature the league’s all-time leading scorer, LeBron James, during the 2026-27 season.
Expectations are just as high in Philadelphia as they are in New York this season, especially with James joining the likes of Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe on a team that could do damage in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks are still the team to beat – they are the reigning champions after all – out of the East, but the 76ers are another early-season favorite to win the conference because of the star power.
We’ve seen so-called "super teams" come and go throughout sports, and James was a part of one that ended up seeing success with one during his Miami Heat years. Could the same thing occur in Year 24 in the NBA, this time in Philly?
Either way, one NBA legend believes this is a dream scenario for the league, granted things turn out the way they’re supposed to on paper.
"Lebron in Philly is exactly the kind of storyline that the league thrives on," Carmelo Anthony told OutKick, while highlighting his role in DraftKings new campaign for the NBA season. "You got a guy who’s done everything in this game of basketball. He’s now in a new city with a hungry, starving fan base that was almost there a couple of seasons ago. So, that didn’t go anywhere. They’re not so far beyond that point. They still understand the process.
"So, if they figure it out with the fit and time, they figure it out early, to me that’s important. They’re a problem for everyone in the East, including New York. Because they’re not going to let off the gas if they are healthy."
James figures to be a catalyst of sorts in this 76ers juggernaut, though there are questions surrounding his regular-season availability – he turns 42 in December – and what role he will play given the All-Star options around him.
As we saw with the Los Angeles Lakers, James didn’t mind wearing different hats. He played the leading scorer role if needed, facilitated as a pseudo point guard in some cases, and simply moved around the court to allow space for another star that was getting hot on the offensive end.
Philadelphia has 5 strong scorers when they tip off on Tuesday night in Manhattan, which is why the thought of this team fully healthy throughout the season is intriguing.
It’s also why some believe James is simply setting himself up for one more final push for a fifth NBA title ring. This group, in his eyes, is ready to make that run, so could this be his final year in the NBA?
"Now, I haven’t spoken to him about that part of it. But I would say just observing from afar and comprehending where he’s at mentally, he loves the game of basketball," Anthony replied when asked that exact questions. "He also loves challenges, right? I think this is a challenge that he distilled into himself that he’s willing to take on. He understands that this is Year 20-something in the league, and he’s not going to be able to do it the way [he did in the past]. He understands all of that. I don’t think he’s coming into Philly with that mentality.
"I think he’s coming I with, ‘I know I have a high-impact guard in Tyrese [Maxey]. I know I have a high-impact shooting guard in Jaylen Brown on both sides of the basketball. I know I have, when healthy, arguably the best big man in the game of basketball in Joel Embiid.’ He’s seeing all of these pieces – we got a young, explosive V.J. Edgecombe that he’s going to get better from an intellect standpoint. He’s going to learn the little intricacies of the game of basketball that LeBron understands. He’s going to teach that to him.
"I just like Philly, if they get it right and the fit and time, and they get it right early, they’ll be in the driver’s seat."
STAYING MELO WITH DRAFTKINGS
While Anthony is looking forward to what the Knicks do this season, he’s excited for his partnership with DraftKings and being a part of its campaign ahead of the season.
"We got a great campaign, man. Myself, Kevin Hart, Nick Jonas. We really came together, and I got to give a shoutout to DraftKings and that creative team for putting that concept together," he said. "The beauty in that is the fact that we can have more fun with DraftKings because it’s in all 50 states now, which is major. I just love the fact that more people are involved, and more people can have fun with the game of basketball in this sense, and just sports in general. I love that."
Anthony called it a "beautiful thing" being able to work alongside Hart and Jonas for the campaign, which he is excited for fans to see.
With DraftKings available in all 50 states, the campaign revolves around Hart and Jonas traveling throughout the country, where car troubles can happen. As the tow truck figures out their situation, Anthony is waiting with his own car problems in the clip as he tries to get the word out about DraftKings.
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