LeBron Signed for the Minimum at 41, and Our Juniors Threw Away the Lead Twice

LeBron James signed for Philadelphia - and demolished his own wallet

At 41, ahead of his 24th season in the NBA, LeBron James has ended his eight-year stay with the Lakers and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. It is a two-year deal at the veteran minimum: 3.88 million dollars for 2026/27 and a player option of 4.07 million for the following season. That is 2.35 percent of the league's future salary cap. Last season with the Lakers he earned 52.6 million - the difference is the largest pay cut in NBA history. Philadelphia had nothing else to offer, having already spent its cap space on Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and new arrival Jaylen Brown. James explained it on his own account: "This is my last decision. I am not chasing money." When the league's first active billionaire plays for the minimum, money really is not the argument.

A fifth ring or nothing: why the Sixers

Sources close to James told ESPN the same thing: the choice was purely a title calculation. "At this stage of his career, if he is going to sacrifice everything to play at a high level, it has to be in service of winning a championship ring," Dave McMenamin reports. The Philadelphia roster really is frightening on paper - Embiid, Maxey, Brown and VJ Edgecombe, with Brown brought in from Boston earlier this summer. James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games last season, which for a 41-year-old is absurd. The bookmakers reacted immediately: the Sixers' title odds dropped from 21 and the club entered the top four favourites. The question nobody asks out loud: how many bodies from this roster will be healthy in April?

Trump called LeBron a racist - a decade-long feud that will not end

Immediately after the transfer was announced, US President Donald Trump publicly attacked James, saying he "may be a racist". The clash between them has run for a decade and has never been about basketball - James is one of the few athletes of that stature who speaks openly about politics. The reactions were fierce, as they have been every time. What is interesting for a Balkan reader is the mechanics: a top athlete signs a contract, and the president of the most powerful country on earth finds time the same day to comment on whether he is a racist. Would our officials pass up a headline opportunity like that?

Macedonia's juniors let the game against Bosnia slip in the closing minutes

Macedonia's men's junior team suffered its second defeat at the European Championship Division B, held in Rijeka and Opatija. Against Bosnia and Herzegovina our players were the better side for most of the game - they led 46:41 at half-time, were up 57:48 in the 26th minute, and went ahead again 64:59 in the final period. Then came the collapse: a 13:2 run at the end of the third quarter, and in the closing stages the Bosnians pulled clear to 80:73 and a final 86:75. Our best were Gjorgjevikj with 21 points (four rebounds, four assists), Cvetkovski with 20, Danev with 14 and Neshovikj with 10. An eight-point lead twice, given away twice - that is not a question of talent, but of the minutes in which somebody has to take responsibility.

FIBA put Damjan Danev among ten to watch, Pelister builds a new team

There is good news from the same tournament: FIBA named Damjan Danev among ten players to pay particular attention to at the European Under-18 Championship. The assessment notes that the eighteen-year-old forward makes a strong impression with his height, wingspan and rim protection, and also has drives and range. Danev arrives in Croatia with experience from last year's Division A championship, where he was the national team's best shot-blocker. After a year among the elite, Macedonia is back in Division B and he is meant to be the trump card for a quick return. Meanwhile, KK Pelister has begun assembling its squad for 2026/27 - after appointing coach Tane Spasev, the first officially presented signing is Blagoj Dimitriev, the 26-year-old returning to Bitola from Tikvesh, having previously played for Angeli and Strumica. Quiet building, with no trophy announcements. Refreshing.