LeBron James to Philadelphia for 8 million dollars - and the whole league realigns

The Philadelphia 76ers signed LeBron James to a two-year deal worth 8 million dollars. Eight million. For a man who has been NBA Most Valuable Player four times. That isn't a salary, that's a message - that this is a last run at a ring, not about money. Club president Mike Gansey wouldn't confirm whether there will be an official presentation, saying James has travel and that the press conference or media day will probably be the first time all of Philadelphia talks to him. James doesn't much like presentations anyway - when he joined the Lakers in 2018 he held none, and his last was in 2010 with Wade and Bosh in Miami. Together with the Jaylen Brown transfer, Philadelphia has gone from an average team to the top title favourite for the 2026/27 season. And for less money than some clubs pay a reserve.

Jaylen Brown and Tatum haven't spoken since Boston sold off its champions

At his Philadelphia presentation, Jaylen Brown was honest about his relationship with Jayson Tatum: "We won a championship together. Every relationship has ups and downs. From my side there's nothing but respect, except when he's playing against the Sixers." Asked whether they had spoken since the transfer, the answer was short - barely. Tatum had earlier admitted it felt strange: nine seasons together, two finals, one title. "One day you find out he's not on your team any more. We're all human. We feel all those emotions." This is the part of the NBA that never makes it into the statistics. The club breaks up the core that brought it a trophy, and both men are expected to call it business and move on. One does it with a microphone in front of him. The other says it's strange. He's the more honest one.

Shengelia paid a million euros to get out of Barcelona

Tornike Shengelia has officially left Barcelona and signed a two-year deal with Dubai. The interesting detail: to get out of his contract, the Georgian paid around a million euros out of his own pocket. And that after a season averaging 12.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 34 EuroLeague games, plus 11.2 points in 40 games in Spain's ACB league and a domestic championship final. So he wasn't running from a bad spell. When one of Europe's best power forwards pays a million euros just to walk out the door, that says more about the atmosphere at the club than any statement could. Dubai, meanwhile, keeps buying at a pace no European club can follow.

Macedonia's under-16s outclassed Cyprus 82:63 in Gevgelija

The men's under-16 team opened the European Championship Division B, held in Gevgelija and Skopje, with a win. Against Cyprus it was 82:63, and the start was furious - in a little over five minutes of play the score reached 22:5, with six three-pointers in the first quarter alone. Dion Shabani put up 37 points and 10 rebounds, and Aleksandar Zunzurovski added 23 points. When Cyprus came back to 39:45 at the start of the second half, Zunzurovski hit two threes, a 12:2 run followed and the game was settled at 67:47. Coach Dejan Stojanovski was pleased with the energy but not with the turnovers: "Against an opponent like this, at certain moments we should have played calmer and more patiently. But these are young lads, the atmosphere carried them away." Iceland follows on Friday at 6:30pm in the "26 April" hall.

Pelister signed a second American, and the numbers are serious

Camron McDowell is Pelister's new player - the second American in Bitola this summer. He is 23, 196 centimetres tall and plays shooting guard. Across five seasons of college basketball he scored 1,519 points in 92 games, averaging 16.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2 assists in 26.8 minutes. His best season was 2024/25 at Northwestern Oklahoma State with 27.3 points per game. He entered the 2025 NBA draft but returned to college basketball and finished in the league's top two all-star fives. With a CV like that the question isn't whether he can score, but whether Pelister has enough of a team around him. Domestic clubs often bring in a foreign scorer and then wonder why the results don't follow - one man doesn't carry a season, not even at 27 points a game.