LeBron fever: he still hasn’t been introduced and he has already caused this scene in Philadelphia
The arrival of the NBA star has already caused an unexpected scene in the city: Fans are lining up to get his jersey.
The new star player of Philadelphia has not yet been officially introduced to his team's fans, but some of them are already willing to get his jersey by waiting in front of the official store.
The Sixers store located at the Xfinity Mobile Arena , the team’s home in Philadelphia, opened on two exceptional days to put the new merchandise from the Sixers on sale. The 41-year-old player’s jersey was the main attraction.
The arrival of the star has already caused a phenomenon that goes far beyond the court
It has been just over 30 days since James announced his plans to spend the final stretch of his career in Philadelphia; however, "The King James" has still not appeared before his new fans. According to Fanatics, the basketball legend has already surpassed Shohei Ohtani and has become the player who sold the most jerseys after changing teams. His commercial impact is evident.
Demand also spread to other stores. For example, when LeBron shirts became available to the public at Dick’s Sporting Goods, they sold out quickly, another sign of the anticipation generated by his arrival even before playing a game with the 76ers.
Victoria Isley, vice president of team collaboration solutions, said that the store is normally only open on game days, but understanding the excitement generated by the superstar, the Sixers executives decided to do something special to help fans get ready for the season.
“Fans have been very excited throughout the entire preseason, with the multiple additions,” Isley said. “So I think we’re ready for the season to start, and I think the fans are showing that by lining up early to get their gear and jerseys before the start of the season.”
Among the fans who lined up was also Cam Johnson, a 21-year-old young man from Oak Ridge, New Jersey, who hopes that LeBron's arrival will end with the team celebrating a championship.
“Without a doubt, the excitement is going to continue” , Johnson said . “Whenever you have LeBron James on your team, you’re going to get a lot of attention from the media, from the fans, from everyone. But we have the greatest of all time on our team, in my opinion, two of the best, and I expect to win a championship because this team reached the second round last year.”
“Now they add the best player of all time to this team—and I think he fits perfectly—and now they also have Jaylen Brown. I have high expectations.”
The 2026-27 season has not started yet, and the impact of the Sixers' new number 23 is already evident . Now, the expectation is to see whether the fever that began with the jerseys will also carry over to the team's performance when James finally makes his de but with Philadelphia.
