Lebron James makes preseason home debut with Philadelphia 76ers

LeBron James making his home preseason debut with the Philadelphia 76ers. This is the 10 o'clock news streaming on Fox Local. I'm Jason Martinez. And I'm Dawn Timoney. He may have already played out of town, but there's really something special about the first time in front of the home crowd. Our Jeff Skoburski was at the game getting the pulse from fans. But let's go to Scott first with what happened in the game. And Scott, a loss in OT, but hey, it's a preseason. Yeah, you know, a preseason loss, no biggie, right? But the excitement was all about seeing this team and these starters in action. and they performed very well for the home crowd. Sixers do lose in overtime, 125-120. LeBron James played 25 minutes, had eight points and eight assists. Jalen Brown logged 31 minutes and scored 20. Look at Joel Embiid, 29 minutes, and he led the way with 27 points. Tyrese Maxey had 20 points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope started for VJ Edgecombe. He was just getting a night off. Don't worry, he had seven points. So it all starts for real next week. The Sixers visit the Knicks to open the season Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Then they come home for three games. The home opener is set for next Thursday against one of LeBron's former teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers. So buckle up. LeBron James' experience begins for real next week. Jason? It counts. Thank you, Scott. Okay, Jeff, what's the verdict from fans so far? Hey, guys. LeBron James' first preseason game at home does not disappoint. This is the hottest ticket in town. In fact, we met fans that traveled all over the world just to see LeBron James play on this court. We even met one fan who came all the way from Italy. LeBron James' first introduction to Sixers fans, electric. Playing his first preseason game at home, fans are in awe. You can just feel his aura any time he walks in, and it's amazing. Sixers fans are tossing this up as an experience of a lifetime, from his famous chalk toss to even tonight's alley oop. Lots of oohs and ahhs. It's amazing. I've waited years for this. This is crazy that he went to the Sixers. The Sixers superstar is embracing the brotherly love. King James even holding court with these lucky kids before the game. I saw you gave LeBron James a high five. That's pretty cool. Cool, yeah. Is he your favorite player? Yeah. Got a picture with him? Yes, sir. How cool is that to hang out with LeBron James for a few minutes? Pretty cool. Some fans going the extra mile just to get a shot up close to LeBron. These Sixers fans drove 1,000 miles from Memphis, Tennessee to celebrate their 22nd wedding anniversary watching LeBron, and they hope to celebrate with another ring at the end of the season. We're going to the championship. Just like that, huh? You heard it from me. You heard it from me. How crazy is it to see LeBron James in a Sixers jersey? It's crazy. I'm still trying to get used to it. It's crazy. He's about to light the city up. LeBron is also lighting up the team store. His number 23 jersey is the hottest and best-selling jersey flying off the shelf. His fans flew all the way from Italy just to scoop up a souvenir and see his favorite player. That's very beautiful. from Italy just to see LeBron, and I'm very excited to see it for the first time. You heard that right. That fan right there came all the way from Italy a few days ago just to see the Sixers and LeBron James tonight. Of course, he picked up that souvenir, the hot item, the LeBron James jersey. Look, this place was absolutely packed tonight, and it was just a preseason game. The regular season gets going next week, including the home opener, which is Thursday right here at Xfinity Mobile Arena. We're live tonight in South Philadelphia. Jeff Skoburski, Fox 29 News.