LeBron James after his 76ers debut: ‘We did that on the fly,’ and Tyrese Maxey ‘doesn’t seem like he gets tired’

LeBron James played his first game for the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 34 minutes of a 106-100 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. It came on the night the Knicks raised their first championship banner in 53 years.

Afterward, the 41-year-old kept his verdict short. “It’s still going to take some time. It’s one game,” James said. “But obviously we can learn from the good things that we did, we can learn from the bad things that we did tonight.”

Some LeBron James postgame tonight, talking about that end of quarter sequence that led to the Jaylen Brown three: “We did that on the fly.” And more about how the team is coming together. pic.twitter.com/ny6r1W3mi7

— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) October 21, 2026

The video above was posted by 76ers beat writer Christopher Hine.

‘We did that on the fly’

The game turned at the end of the third quarter. Philadelphia trailed 76-72 with three minutes left in the period, then scored the last 11 points. Jaylen Brown hit back-to-back threes to finish the run, the second at the buzzer off a pass from James, for an 83-76 lead.

“JB making that three, obviously, to put us up seven. Big-time shot, big-time play, big-time momentum,” James said.

He said the last play was not something the 76ers had practiced. “No, we did that on the fly. Yeah, we did that on the fly,” he said. “We just tried to get some movement going and then get Joel setting a pin-down for one of our guys coming off, and JB knocks it down.”

Asked how he and Brown had found each other so quickly, James said: “Practice, practice, practice, film, and then communication.” He added: “We’re two guys that’s been to the finish line, so a lot of experience there. So just trying to be on the same page. And like I said, early on, there’s times we’re on different pages, and that’s not a negative thing. It’s just, as we continue to figure it out. But I thought tonight was pretty good.” Brown finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists and was a game-high plus-17.

‘He doesn’t get tired’

James was asked what stood out after his first regular-season game next to Tyrese Maxey, who led everyone with 28 points and added five assists, three steals and three blocks in 40 minutes. “His stamina. It doesn’t seem like he gets tired,” James said. “He’s one of the fastest guys in the league, if not the fastest, with the ball. So that’s just going to be key for our team, to be able to continue to put pressure on the defense, and obviously he consistently can do that.” Brown, asked the same question, pointed to Maxey’s speed.

Asked whether he had ever played with a guard that quick on both ends, James named a former Lakers teammate. “The first guy that comes to my mind, with speed, offensively, defensively, Dennis Schröder,” he said, calling Schröder fast with the ball and good on defense as well.

Missed threes, timely threes

The 76ers shot 11 of 40 from three-point range. James was not worried about it. “We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well from the outside tonight, something we’re obviously not worried about, because we have some great shooters and we will get it back soon,” he said. “But I just like the way we played. We were sharing the ball. We got the ball moving from one side to another. Guys felt in a good rhythm.” Philadelphia finished with 28 assists to New York’s 21.

He listed the shots that held off the Knicks in the fourth quarter. “Tyrese was Tyrese,” he said. “You look at the three on the right wing from Joel, you look at the three from KCP right by their bench at the end of the clock, and some of the plays that JB and VJ had too was special. Big shout-out to Ant too. Those minutes he gave us off the bench was crucial.” Anfernee Simons scored 13 off the bench, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 10, and Joel Embiid‘s three answered a Karl-Anthony Towns three that had cut the lead to 96-95 with 4:37 left.

James also pointed to two first-half problems that Philadelphia fixed after halftime: turnovers that led to easy points and offensive rebounds. The Knicks grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in the game. “We knew that we gave them some pick-sixes in the first half, and we knew we gave them offensive rebounds in the first half where they had second-chance points,” he said. “And we cleaned that up in the second half. That’s the sign of a good team.”

Jumping out on Towns

One of the biggest defensive plays came with James guarding Towns, who scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. James said he read the play and jumped out at Towns, who was popping out for jumpers while Jalen Brunson handled the ball, and Maxey jumped the pass for a breakaway dunk late in the game. “That was more just a read the play,” James said. “Obviously Kat is very dangerous when he has space. He catches it high, he shoots it high. He had a couple in the fourth quarter. So that was just me trying to read it, and if Brunson was able to throw the ball back to Kat, I wanted to be there on the catch and give him no air space. And Tyrese is playing center field, was able to jump that and get that dunk. That was a big momentum point.”

Dave McMenamin reported that the matchup came from Embiid. With three fouls, Embiid told the coaches he could not guard Towns as aggressively as he needed to, and suggested James switch onto him. Embiid finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks, though he shot 4 of 15. “Defensively, I think a lot of it falls on me,” Embiid said after the game. “If I want to be all-defense, like I used to be, that changes everything for our team. If I can play that role every single night, which I will, changes everything.”

Embiid said the win over the team that swept Philadelphia in the second round last spring “felt a lot different than in the past, but we’re so far away from what we could be.”

‘A great night for New York fans’

James signed a two-year, $8 million veteran-minimum deal with Philadelphia in July after leaving the Lakers, the smallest salary of his career. He is the first player to reach a 24th NBA season and turns 42 on Dec. 30.

Asked how he leads a new team, James said it starts with his own work. “I’m there every day. I’m there before everybody gets to the gym. I’m one of the last ones to leave,” he said. “I don’t just be like telling guys to do it. And if I’m not doing something, I want the guys to hold me accountable.” He called the season “a marathon,” adding: “We’re not going to do it in day one or day four, five, six, seven, whatever the case may be.”

He did not see the win as spoiling the Knicks’ celebration. “I wouldn’t say that. I mean, it was a great night for New York fans,” he said, comparing it to Cleveland’s long title drought before his Cavaliers won in 2016. “The fans would never forget this moment, would never forget that championship run, and we’re happy that we’re just able to come and play on such a historical night, I mean, historical building, and play the game that we love.”

The 76ers’ home opener is Thursday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, James’ first NBA team.