LeBron James Shows Love to Eagles Players Before 76ers-Lakers Game

Philadelphia Eagles players linked with LeBron James on Tuesday.
Jan 28, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James warms up before a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Jan 28, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James warms up before a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

For the first and only time this season, the Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Los Angeles Lakers.

As the two teams geared up for the matchup, Lakers superstar LeBron James spent a brief moment showing love to members of the NFL’s 2024-2025 NFC Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Star wide receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith were among those who were courtside to watch LeBron go through his pregame warmups with the Lakers.

The Eagles stars have attended Sixers-Lakers matchups in the past, but this one was a little more special, considering it’s the first game for the 76ers since the Eagles clinched a spot in the Super Bowl.

On Sunday, the Eagles hosted the Washington Commanders. While divisional matchups are typically tight battles, the Eagles handled business with a blowout victory.

Philadelphia ended the Commanders’ run with a 55-23 win, punching their own ticket to New Orleans.

With the Eagles Super Bowl-bound, they’ve been making appearances throughout the week so far, starting with a Philadelphia Flyers game at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night.

On Tuesday, the Sixers had a handful of Eagles players take part in the tradition of ringing the bell before the game.

Along with Brown and Smith, the Eagles were represented by Brandon Graham, Avonte Maddox, Reed Blankenship, Cooper DeJean, and more.

The Sixers locked in shortly after and focused on maintaining their win streak against a tough Lakers squad. Last Friday, the Sixers snapped their losing streak by picking up a victory against the first-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.

On the following night, the Sixers beat the Chicago Bulls, who placed roughly two games ahead of them in the standings. Tuesday’s opponent from LA is currently on a four-game win streak. LeBron James, who was on the injury report leading up to the contest, was cleared to play and looked to try and get the Lakers to five in a row.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA