LeBron James left the Lakers for the 76ers this week, and the league's most tracked employment decision landed nowhere near the Dallas fanbase that spent the summer designing his mural. Philadelphia had already committed the max contract math for this outcome. Sixers ownership, Josh Harris and David Blitzer's Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment group, built the cap sheet for a star like this before there was a star to fit into it, and now the same ownership group that co-owns Crystal Palace and the Devils has the most famous jersey number in basketball on its books. The Lakers, for the first time since 2018, are a franchise without him.

Dallas is the more interesting loser here. Mark Cuban spent this same week stepping back from the Mavericks to buy into the Athletics, telling reporters the move wasn't his call to make alone, and the Mavs front office had reportedly positioned itself as the top LeBron suitor while its most famous voice was busy closing an entirely different transaction. Philadelphia didn't win a bidding war so much as show up as the only team actually holding the paperwork. The mural budget was real. The roster spot never was.