Sean Brace talks Sixers & Lebron

From St. Vincent, St. Mary's, number 23, LeBron James! James! Yes! Now, this is exactly why I texted Matt Cord. Matt Cord, not available to me, but apparently he is available to this guy, Sean Brace. Hi! Jen Fred, what a day! What a day! Now listen, your fit is very, you know, training camp next week, game this, where the heck is your Sixers stuff, man? Today was our first football guy Friday. We were mixing it in on middays with Marks, 9-7-5, the Fanatic, 10-2, Monday through Friday. Today was the day! We were mixing it in with Fantasy, Eagles, NFL, a little bit of college, just having a football Friday, right? Of course, our eyes are always on LeBron's decision, and you start to believe in a little bit of what the rumors were, reading the tea leaves, the prediction markets, draft kings, you name it, everybody said the Miami Heat, they're going to land LeBron James. Well, guess what? It's not what took place. LeBron is coming to South Philly to go after his fifth championship ring. Unbelievable. We are in uncharted territory right now, Jen Fred. Unbelievable. Okay, so just so you know, I have been a LeBron believer. I have been shamed. I've been told by Tom Loudon to stop it. I've been TikTok-ing, the people were like, stop it with the TikToks. Forgive me for not knowing this, four days ago, where were you? Did you think this was a possibility? Always thought it was a possibility, but I tend to fall in line with some of the odds makers, and you know, they have resources, they have connections more than what I do, so I was believing what was being put out there, but I do believe this too, Jen Fred, this was something that we continued to say day in and day out, was the longer this drags on, it's happening for a reason, and the reason was, if you believe LeBron James, it's because he was clearly thinking about, A, retiring, he said in his statement, or B, maybe going back to Cleveland, and ultimately that's what it came down to, is he needed something, another reason for him not to go back to Cleveland, and Bob Myers, Mike Gansey, and the 76ers did exactly that by getting Jalen Brown. That trade was the first domino to fall, and once LeBron saw that Jalen Brown was there, with of course his guy Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, and oh by the way, Joel Embiid, bottom line is this, LeBron looked at this fit and said, it's about winning a championship, I don't care about golf, I don't care about having fun, I love my family, they're on the west coast, he's got a couple dollars in the bank, he'll be alright, he'll make sure that they have a place to stay, fly out here, whatever, it doesn't matter, but he's coming to Philadelphia to get a championship, it doesn't get any better than that. And so, just in terms of the timeline, we got Jalen Brown before LeBron James says, I've got one more year and it's not gonna be with the Lakers, so I'm assuming that Myers and Gansey, they thought that was their big summer of 2026, then this opportunity comes up, and I have to believe in that office on the phone, at the yacht, I don't know where these decisions are made, they're like, holy cannoli, we could actually use this big moment to get one even more grandiose. Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what took place, again, Jalen Brown, we know what he's capable of, finals MVP, a heck of a talent, top 10, top 15 player, and the fact that the 76ers who were, let's just be real, a corpse, a corpse, we got destroyed in that series against the Knicks, now the Knicks did that to a lot of teams, but there was not a lot of fanfare, not a lot of enthusiasm, we don't need to revisit it, but of course Mother's Day Massacre takes place, and we needed changes, and I wasn't sure if Mike Gansey and Bob Myers were going to be able to make some wholesale changes, and you have to be patient with this sort of thing, but that's not how they're operating, and that's a good thing, because obviously the way things ended for the Sixers, albeit a good win over the Boston Celtics in that series, but it was ugly, it was ugly, and there was a lot of apathy from the fanbase, so Gansey and Bob Myers and Josh Harris, gotta throw him into the mix, understood the assignment and said we must make some changes, and they were able to get a guy like Jalen Brown, and that signaled to LeBron, like hey, there could be another contender out there to join, to add to the ranks of Miami, Cleveland, and the other teams that were mentioned as well. You know, we've said this a couple of times, it bears repeating, the best part of all of this is that he chose us, he made this decision, and it's interesting because Myers and Gansey did the same thing, right, they said, I'm gonna do, I think there's a possibility for greatness in Philadelphia, both of those guys know how to win, they know what it tastes like, so you said it perfectly, Philadelphia 76ers, it was a corpse of a team, what do you think those two saw before this, that let them know there was an opportunity? I would start with, let's start with Bob Myers, and he was like a Sixers executive, even though he wasn't, you know, as far as listed on his resume as a Sixers executive last year, he was working for Josh Harris, so he was at a lot of the games, so I think he discovered the pride, and you know that they have top-notch facilities, whether it's the practice facility in Camden, the home arena, the fans, the enthusiasm for sports in our city, bar none, the best in the country, a big reason why LeBron is coming here, so it starts with that, I think that Bob Myers was here all of last season, and was able to see, you know what, this is potentially somewhere that I want to throw my hat into this arena, I want to give this an opportunity, so it started there, and then Bob Myers had, I would assume, a guy like Gansey on his radar, and there were plenty of people that were singing his praises, which is just crazy, Jen Fred, for just one second, because if you're the Cleveland Cavaliers, you literally had Mike Gansey on your staff, here he is, he has the connection to LeBron James, Gansey goes out there to Philadelphia, pulls in Jalen Brown, and brings the kid from Akron to Philadelphia, if you're a Cleveland Cavalier fan today, you gotta be sick to your stomach, because it was all right there, but nobody cares about them, because right back to what you said, Jen Fred, we never get the Rose, we always get passed, we got the Rose, he chose us, he likes us, he really likes us, they like us, I know, there is no like, they don't like us, we don't care, we do care, and you know who else cares, LeBron cares, and you know what he cares about, Philadelphia, Broad Street, SEPTA, Wawa, Pretzels, Water Ice, Delco, and the Shore. Nothing better, yeah, we were already talking about Wawa, Hoagie Fest, which one he's going to be going after, I just can't wait, it's just, it just started, so we have no idea, this is uncharted territory, this is a place that we have never been before, this franchise of 76ers, I have never been before with a guy like LeBron James, the fanfare that he's gonna bring to the table, already tickets, I can only imagine, those phones are ringing off the hook, I mean, literally, to get into the parking lot, to get into the game, it's gonna be even crazier, like, it's just ratcheted up to an all-time high, but ultimately it comes down to this, he chose Philadelphia, because it's about rings for him, it's about championships, this is LeBron James, he wants to get that fit, he is in pursuit of six for Michael Jordan, we know that it's in the back of his mind, and this is the utmost, the most optimistic spot with this roster, with Joel Embiid, Vijay, Tyrese, and of course, Jalen Brown, Nick Nurse, who's won a championship, they have some good depth, they made a good pick as far as the draft is concerned, and Bylon, there's a lot to like, and of course LeBron loved what he saw. Okay, so we're in third place right now behind San Antonio and OKC in terms of winning a championship, that's one number, the other number I want to give you, Fanatics, they've already released the jersey, it's already sold out, Tom Loudon tried to buy me one, couldn't get his credit card in, it's true, so all of the jerseys are, we can't show it because you're on Zoom, sorry, I'm a bad person, what do you think about that? I mean, that means that not just the people here in Philadelphia have bought jerseys, because they are at Wawa celebrating, they're on the Wildwood Boardwalk celebrating, they're not buying jerseys, so the people in LA, Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, all of them, they're buying these jerseys. Yeah, it doesn't surprise me, because look, you're talking about LeBron James, and he's been doing it for so long, year 23 in the league, he came in out of high school, like this dude has fans, and there are teams and players that have fans, LeBron James has another level of a fan base, of course, we know what he brings to the table, he's a global superstar. This was a monster get, and I can't believe that they were able to pull this off, yeah, it doesn't surprise me that those jerseys are already sold out, season tickets, I would imagine, are going to be gone in probably minutes, if not already, I need an extra for opening night, Jen Fred, so let me get that Tom Loudon credit card, please. Done, done. I need an extra for opening the night, thank you so much, I know you're a busy guy, you're probably tired from doing all your jobs, we appreciate you, it's just the best day ever, and I'm glad that you've been here with us, love it, Jen Fred, you're the best, we'll play golf with Saquon and LeBron soon, let's go!