Brian Windhorst Fires Back After Charles Barkley Calls Out LeBron James For Joining Stacked 76ers

For the fourth time in his career, LeBron James is moving to another team. This time around, he's set to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. It was undoubtedly a jaw-dropping move by James, especially since he's forming a superteam with Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey.

While Philly fans are looking forward to potentially winning the championship this coming season, NBA legend Charles Barkley couldn't help but call out James. Chuck noted how Bron always relies on forming superteams to win championships.

"The number one knock on LeBron for older guys like myself has always been, 'Yo, man, you always stacking your team.' He stacked it in Miami. He stacked it in Cleveland. He stacked it in LA. Now he's stacking it in Philly," Barkley said.

There might be some truth behind Barkley's sentiments; however, NBA insider Brian Windhorst believes otherwise. Windhorst noted how in today's NBA, all teams are already "stacked".

No matter where LeBron decides to go, it would be seen as him chasing rings, since almost every team in the league already has stars.

"Where does Charles and the legends want LeBron to go? Do they want him to go to the G League? Because if he went to Cleveland, is that team stacked? Is Miami with Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo is that team stacked? Jokic and Jamal Murray is that team stacked? Ant Edwards, Rudy Gobert I don’t know; he left Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves is that not? I don’t understand the premise of the complaint," Windhorst said in response.

To add to Windhorst's train of thought, James is already in the twilight years of his career. Seeing him go to a team that has little to no talent doesn't seem like the best way to end his career. At this point in James' career, ending on a high note seems like the best way to go.

Fellow 'Inside The NBA' Host Defends LeBron James Free Agency Decision

While Charles Barkley isn't a fan of LeBron James forming a superteam with the Philadelphia 76ers, his Inside The NBA co-host, Shaquille O'Neal, recently defended the King.

In O'Neal's point of view, James isn't trying to chase after championships. To the big man, it's more of LeBron wanting to end his career with a bang.

"It's the ending of his career," O'Neal noted before joining the 76ers. "He wants to go somewhere where he has a really good chance of winning. A lot of people call it ring chasing. It’s not ring chasing. It’s just defining your legacy. He did it the right way."

"More power to LeBron if he can get with a team and try to get one more ring," O'Neal added. "At this point, when we talk about LeBron’s legacy, we’re just talking about extra credit."

Since James officially joined the Sixers on Sunday, this bumped up the team's chances of winning the 2027 NBA championship. Philly currently has +900 odds to win the title, tying for third place with the defending champions, the New York Knicks.

Right now, the biggest issue the new Sixers team will have to face is figuring out their chemistry. James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey are all ball-dominant players. Though Embiid and Maxey have already established their dynamic, the addition of Brown and James might disrupt the balance.

However, with reports of the 76ers planning to make LeBron play point guard, one thing is clear: the King will likely take a backseat and allow his younger teammates to flourish from his ball distribution.