LeBron James is in love with competing vs. Father Time, hopes to help Joel Embiid over the hump in Philly

LeBron James explained on the new episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast that he stayed away from most basketball activities for at least a month and a half following the conclusion of his 2025-26 campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers.

style="text-align: left;">At 41, he felt like his body responded “very well.” As for his mind? That responded better than it had the previous summer, James told co-host Steve Nash, as shown Friday.

style="text-align: left;">“I think the only thing that I continued to say to myself was, 'If you still have an opportunity to do what you love, then why just say I'm done?’” the 22-time NBA All-Star said.

style="text-align: left;">He conveyed that he’s in love with the pursuit of defying the odds.

style="text-align: left;">“It's this whole Father Time thing that I've actually dived into and have a real basketball competitive thing with him,” he said.

style="text-align: left;">James, a four-time NBA champion and four-time league MVP, is gearing up for his NBA-record-extending 24th season. He re-upped with a continued commitment to his process and, as he illustrated to Nash, a desire to help “The Process” in Philadelphia.

The question everyone’s been asking all summer finally has an answer... Why Philly?

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— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) September 25, 2026While James’ relationship with 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey played a significant role in him signing with the Sixers, as did Philadelphia acquiring Jaylen Brown in a trade with the Boston Celtics, one of the most important factors in his move to Philly was “the big fella,” Joel Embiid.

“He's done everything in our league. The only thing he has not done [is] win a championship. And I want to try to help him get that first one,” James said.

style="text-align: left;">“He's been MVP of our league, has a gold medal, All-Stars, signature shoes, bunch of money, beautiful fam. He has everything. He has a city on his back. He's been 'The Process' for, what, 10 years, 12 years, however long he's been there. But I mean, I think it's time now that we dig even deeper into the process, and I hope that I can be that final little piece that can help him get over the hump and have him maybe see it a little bit differently than he's seen it in his career, as far as the day-to-day process, the day-to-day what it takes to get there.”

Embiid, 32, has spent his entire career with the Sixers. As James referenced, despite Embiid’s legion of injuries, the 7-footer has piled up numerous accolades.

style="text-align: left;">But he’s never made it past the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Sixers, as a franchise, haven’t reached the conference finals since 2001, when Allen Iverson piloted Philadelphia to the NBA Finals, a run the Lakers ended in five games.

style="text-align: left;">Staying healthy will be key for Embiid, considering he’s played fewer than 40 regular-season games each of the past three go-arounds. Perhaps James’ “day-to-day process” can rub off on “The Process” and increase his durability during the 2026-27 season.

style="text-align: left;">When Embiid’s healthy, there’s no denying his impact, at least on the offensive end of the court. During his valiant first-round playoff series versus the Celtics this past season, he averaged 28 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists per game while leading the Sixers to their first-ever 3-1 postseason comeback, against a rival in Boston no less.

LeBron says Jaylen Brown is ‘misunderstood’Speaking of that rival, the Celtics turned heads when they shipped Brown down the East Coast to Philadelphia this offseason.

style="text-align: left;">The accomplished wing found himself ensnared in drama this summer. After Boston’s premature playoff exit, Brown infamously took to Twitch and characterized the 2025-26 season as his "favorite year" of his basketball career, even though it ended far earlier than the Celtics’ parade of dominance that amounted to an NBA championship in 2024. Plus, maybe most notably, Boston played most of this past season without Brown’s co-star, Jayson Tatum, who was recovering from the Achilles injury he suffered during the 2025 playoffs.

style="text-align: left;">Brown’s statement inspireed questions about his relationship with Tatum and about his agenda, given his remarkable individual success last season.

style="text-align: left;">Since arriving in Philadelphia, however, Brown has tried to set the record straight, that “winning is the agenda.”

style="text-align: left;">James ascribed the word “misunderstood” to Brown in Friday’s “Mind the Game” episode.

style="text-align: left;">“He has his own voice. He moves to the sound of his own beat. It makes people uncomfortable because it's not what everyone's accustomed to,” James theorized.

style="text-align: left;">“Am I right? I'm going to spend some time and get an opportunity to be around him even more.”

style="text-align: left;">James mentioned how he’s worked out with Brown a few times this offseason and highlighted the fact that, along with guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (who won an NBA title with James and the Lakers in 2020 and another with the Denver Nuggets in 2023), they’re the guys with championship pedigree on the Sixers’ roster.

style="text-align: left;">“We know what it takes,” James said of him and Brown. “So just trying to make sure we're on the same page and have everybody else on the same page. But it's been nothing but good interaction with JB, and we're going to continue that.”

style="text-align: left;">James effused about Maxey, who he emphasized is the same person every day and has been even before he was drafted 21st overall in 2020.

style="text-align: left;">Like James, the 25-year-old Maxey is represented by Klutch Sports Group’s Rich Paul. Regardless of their age gap, Maxey and James are close beyond that connection.

style="text-align: left;">Maxey was one of the first people hitting James up after he made the call to leave the Lakers in free agency this offseason.

style="text-align: left;">“I just love everything about Tyrese Maxey, man,” James said. “He was one of the first people that was on my line, calling me, 'Yo, what are we doing? Yo, what's up? What's up, OG? What's up, old head? Come on down here, man. We can use you down here.'

style="text-align: left;">“And our relationship, there's a lot of times that I don't answer the phone for a lot of phone calls because I don't even want to be swayed one way, or I already know what you're calling about, but, I mean, he's such a great person. I cannot not talk to him.”

style="text-align: left;">Even so, Maxey’s character superseded his persistence in the Sixers’ courting of James. It was among the multitude of reasons James chose Philly for his age-42 season, his ongoing battle against Father Time.