LeBron James' deal with the 76ers is a high school reunion with president of baseball operations Mike Gansey

LeBron James’ decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76erswill come with plenty of ripple effects. One of them is a full circle moment involving the man he just handed a major win.

>The 41-year-old James will be reuniting with Mike Gansey, the 43-year-old president of basketball operations in Philadelphia. More than two decades ago, the two were competing for high school basketball honors in Ohio.

>Gansey was, in fact, the 2001 runner-up for Ohio’s Mr. Basketball honors behind James when the future superstar won it as a sophomore, his first of three wins.

Full circle moment for 76ers GM Mike Gansey and LeBron 🤯

(📸 @SGAN30) pic.twitter.com/gt1Cg4H4n8

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 24, 2026The two never played each other, though, as far as we know. While James and his friends famously starred at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, Gansey was at Olmsted Falls High School roughly 50 miles away.

>While James skipped high school and immediately began starring for the nearby Cleveland Cavaliers, Gansey split his college career at St. Bonaventure and West Virginia, averaging 16.8 points and 5.7 rebounds as a senior in Morgantown. He went undrafted in 2006 and spent a few years on Summer League, D League and foreign teams before entering the executive side of the sport.

>However, he made a strong enough impression on James that the star remembered him when they crossed paths. Gansey’s brother recalled a friendly meeting with Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer when they attended a Cavaliers game:

“And we were probably 100 feet from where LeBron and his people were talking,” Steve recalled. “Someone said, ‘Ganz is over there.’ And LeBron totally walked the opposite way of where he was going, and went to dap up Mike, to say, ‘What’s up, hey man, how you doing?’ Just a quick hello.

>“It just shows you the respect. And I was like, ‘Man, Mike, he really walked 100 feet over here, and just dapped you, and walked directly right back. That’s pretty cool.’ And Mike’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, he’s a great guy,’ and that was it. I’ll always remember that.”

LeBron James is joining the Philadelphia 76ers.Kenneth Richmond via Getty ImagesThis actually isn’t the first time James will have been in the same organization with Gansey. During James’ second tenure with the Cavaliers, Gansey was promoted to assistant general manager of the team.

>Gansey remained in Cleveland until May of this year, when he was hired by the Sixers to replace the ousted Daryl Morey. It seems to have been a successful tenure so far, with Gansey bringing in Jaylen Brown (at the cost of Paul George), Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade and, now, James.

>Philadelphia now has the fourth-best title odds in the NBA.