Grading LeBron James’ 76ers debut as Philly spoils Knicks’ title celebration

The biggest story of the offseason is now a regular-season reality. The new NBA campaign tipped off on Tuesday, and with it we got our first glimpse of LeBron James in a 76ers uniform.

It went about as well as James and his new team could have possibly hoped in their inaugural outing together. The Sixers beat the Knicks 106-100, spoiling ring and banner night for the defending champions in Madison Square Garden.

In 34 minutes, James supplied his usual all-around excellence by stuffing the stat sheet: 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and just one turnover. Here are our grades for James from his first game with Philly.

Overall impact: A

James recently said the luxury of his game is that he can “literally do everything.” He’s not lying. James doesn’t need to be the primary scorer to influence the proceedings and help his team win. That was true against the Knicks. He got off to a slow scoring start before finishing with 14 points on 5 for 13 shooting. He missed all three of his 3-point attempts. That’s not great efficiency. It didn’t matter.

In 34 minutes, James had nine rebounds, seven assists and helped the Sixers’ defense make life difficult on the Knicks, who shot just 37% from the floor and 33% from 3-point range. If those are the kinds of numbers and effort they can expect from the 41-year-old James going forward, Philly will happily take it.

Pregame pomp: A

Selling James as a Sixer isn’t a very heavy lift. You’ve got a franchise that hasn’t been out of the second round in 25 years, and then the greatest player of all time comes along to save the day. The narrative writes itself.

So do the hype videos. Put James in a sweatshirt with “Phila” across the front, have him do a little voice-over about being excited to play for something that’s about more than just him, do some tracking shots of the city and the fans, and add a “throw the ball up” tagline. Boom. As they say in Hollywood, that’s lunch.

Slam Magazine also did a classic cover shoot with James. Full marks for going with “allow me to reintroduce myself,” a line from Jay-Z’s “Public Service Announcement,” a track from “The Black Album,” which was released in 2003, the same year James was drafted.

The marketing machine has been in overdrive and won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

Cleared for takeoff: A

Earlier on Tuesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver was asked about the much-discussed matter of James flying in a helicopter provided by Fanatics as part of his endorsement deal with the company. Michael Rubin, a former Sixers minority owner and the CEO and founder of Fanatics, added some fuel to that particular conspiracy fire. And Pablo Torre, who won a Pulitzer for his reporting on the Clippers cap circumvention scandal, is looking into the matter. But to hear the commissioner tell it, he sees nothing untoward about the arrangement.

“In the case of LeBron and that helicopter, he has a deal with Fanatics. It’s perfectly appropriate if part of his deal is they’re gonna supply a helicopter to him,” Silver said. “I mean, 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.”

That has to come as a relief to James, whose commute from New York to Philly would get a lot more hectic if he had to travel up and down the New Jersey Turnpike.

Gameday fit: B

Not exactly his most memorable outfit. Nothing flashy here, just all business with a dark, double-breasted suit, a crisp white shirt and no tie to go with sunglasses and a bag. Vintage from head to toe.

24th season introduction: C

This one is complicated. James plays for the Sixers. He was introduced for the first game of his record-extending 24th NBA season in New York. That will automatically earn you some boos from the local fans, and rightly so. But James has often talked about how much he loves playing at Madison Square Garden, and there was quite a bit of chatter this offseason about how he dreamed of one day becoming a Knick. All of which led to a bit of a mixed reaction from the crowd when the PA announcer called his name as the fifth starter for Philly. Knicks fans can be forgiven for being uncertain about how to act on this one (though they stepped up their game later with a new chant).

Handshake with Joel Embiid: A+

It’s the first game and Embiid has already roped him into doing D-Generation X cosplay. No notes.

First Sixers chalk toss: A

Classic.

First assist: B

When asked during the preseason how he anticipated utilizing LeBron, head coach Nick Nurse pointed to James’s playmaking and said he’d help initiate the offense. Makes sense. James is one of the best passers of all-time.

For his first assist in a Sixers jersey, James saw Jaylen Brown in the paint, found the right angle as he so often does, and made a quick entry pass for an easy bucket. Much like LeBron’s gameday fit, it wasn’t exactly flashy, but it worked.

First field goal: C

Among other things, James is the all-time leader in points and field goals made. This basket will…add to those numbers. Picking on Landry Shamet in the post probably isn’t something that will make his career highlight reel, but James had to get his first basket somehow.

First dunk: B-

The business end of an alley oop off a pass from Brown. This is sort of graded on the LeBron curve. He’s one of the most explosive dunkers ever, but he’s also going to be 42 in December. As far as his all-time dunks go, this won’t be that memorable, but it’s still impressive how athletic the man remains.

Running the break: A

James has been one of the best players in the open floor for nearly a quarter century. It’s a sight to behold. Last season, he finished second in the NBA in total fastbreak points — behind only new teammate Tyrese Maxey. In the third quarter, Maxey found him on a hit ahead and James did what he does best: accelerating toward the basket and finishing in transition at full speed. Josh Hart briefly made a half-hearted attempt at stopping the ball before thinking better of it. Smart man.

Correcting misinformed Knicks fans: A+

If you’re gonna trash-talk (arguably) the greatest player of all time, at least get the guy’s bio right. As for LeBron, the surest way to win over Philly’s collective heart is to yell at an overbearing Knicks fan on national TV.