When LeBron James joined the Philadelphia 76ers, he highlighted his versatility as a reason the fit could work. "The luxury of my game is that I can do everything," James said at 76ers media day. "Literally, I can do everything." Of course, just because he can do everything doesn't mean he wants to. There is one job, at least thus far, he'd prefer to hand off to a teammate: playing center.
Considering Joel Embiid's lengthy injury history and the season-long loss of Ariel Hukporti to a torn Achilles, front-court depth is a notable concern for Philadelphia. On Sunday, Embiid missed his first game of the season due to plantar fasciitis management, and part of the replacement plan involved playing James at center. It's a role he can take in small doses, but not one he hopes to maintain for much more than that.
"Well, shit, we got an MVP over there. I'm not here to have a sustainable role at the 5," James said after Sunday's loss to the Detroit Pistons, the Sixers' first defeat of the season. "You got Joel Embiid on the team. ... If I was to say I was signed here to have a sustainable role at the 5, I don't think none of us would actually want that. I can do it, but... we have [Embiid]."
The very early numbers support the notion that James is best served playing elsewhere. James has played 50 possessions at center thus far this season, according to Cleaning the Glass, and the Sixers have a -10 net rating within those minutes. The historical numbers are a bit more complicated. James didn't start playing center consistently until the 2021-22 season, and he did so mostly out of roster necessity. The trends are about what you'd expect: James-at-center lineups tend to be very good offensively and very weak defensively.
| Season | Possessions | Offensive rating | Offensive rating percentile | Defensive Rating | Defensive rating percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021-22 | 2,133 | 115.6 | 76 | 115.9 | 23 |
2022-23 | 455 | 120 | 89 | 115 | 51 |
2023-24 | 154 | 126 | 98 | 128.3 | 1 |
2024-25 | 714 | 122.8 | 94 | 119.7 | 16 |
2025-26 | 143 | 155.2 | 100 | 115.1 | 57 |
Of course, the actual performance numbers are only a small part of the equation. This will be LeBron's age-42 season. He simply is not at the same stage of his career physically that he was when he started playing center more frequently with the Los Angeles Lakers. Keeping him healthy is the priority for Philadelphia, and center is the most physically demanding position on the court for James. That, more than anything, is the reason to minimize these stretches.
When Embiid is healthy, that's fully doable. He was not on Sunday, nor were Hukporti, Dominick Barlow, Jabari Walker or Tacko Fall. "We've only got about three guys left that can possibly play the 5," 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said before the game. James was one of them.
As James said back on media day, he can play center mostly because he can play anywhere. An emergency situation like Sunday hopefully isn't the norm. But the reality of employing Embiid on a supermax contract is that affording reliable backups is almost impossible and he's going to miss time due to injury. If his durability is as much of a concern this season as it has been in the past, the Sixers may not have much choice but to play James at center more than he likes, at least until they can pursue more depth closer to the trade deadline.
