Money Moves | July 24, 2026 | Hour 1

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
This is Money Moves on VSiN, the Sports Betting Network.

**Jonathan Von Tobel** (0:10)
Happy Friday, everybody. Nobody happier than Philadelphia 76ers fans as we welcome you into Money Moves on VSiN, the Sports Betting Network, SiriusXM Channel 158 He's Jonathan Von Tobel, I'm Stormy Buonantony. You've heard it by now, LeBron's last decision officially made. And of course, this happens on a day, by the way, that we usually have Zach Cohen, one of our resident NBA experts here. Obviously, you do that as well, JVT. But on a day that we don't have Zach in his usual Friday spot, of course, it's the Friday Newsdom that we have been waiting for for LeBron James for over a month now.

**Stormy Buonantony** (0:43)
Yeah, we're cooked. I have no idea how we're gonna be able to handle this news. How will we cover it? In any way, shape or form.
Surprising, I think, to say the least. For many different reasons.
I was actually just telling our producer, Justin Emory, who is a big Philly fan, by the way. Just the other day, Justin, when we were talking about the fact that I would like to see LeBron go to either Philly or Golden State, just because I'm kind of a nerd, and I used to like playing NBA 2K, and seeing guys in different uniforms that you're not really used to. And even then today, when I see the Photoshopped images, I'm like, ugh, it just doesn't really look right that he is going to be a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. And I would also say, just from a roster fit standpoint, I think there are some questions as to how this is generally going to work for the 76ers. But I am consistent with the thought of, these are all professional basketball players. They all, I think, will make it work in terms of their fit on the court. It might take a little while. And now the King has a new home. And we finally get to settle in in the Eastern Conference for the most part. We're still waiting for the official trade between the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers that would send Kawhi Leonard out there. That will also shake up the market a little bit. But at the very least, biggest fish hasn't been landed in LeBron. It's going to be in the city of brotherly love.

**Jonathan Von Tobel** (1:49)
And it's interesting too, we've talked a lot about LeBron's next team from a prediction market standpoint. And of the teams that we were talking about him going to, he was kind of the low end of the totem pole on that in the eight, nine percent range as we have talked about it more often.
And I think it was interesting too because it wasn't too long ago, we saw Bob Myers on the Game Over podcast with his agent, Rich Paul and Max Kellerman. We played some of the clips from that conversation, whatever it was a week or two ago, where he was talking about his pitch and everything. And I specifically came back at it and was like, no, I don't think Philly is going to make sense for him. Because we've heard all of these reports about this being a happiness led decision. Well, what this tells me is what makes LeBron James happy is winning championships and finally, and I don't want to say finally, but cementing his legacy as the greatest player of all time. Those are things that will make LeBron happy.

**Stormy Buonantony** (2:41)
Yes. And being able to do that for a city like Philadelphia, I think obviously has the legacy too.

**Jonathan Von Tobel** (2:47)
How long has it been? 40 plus years, right?

**Stormy Buonantony** (2:48)
So I think that's a little bit of a part of it. You know, I'm not, the basketball fit again, I know you keep making fun of me, like the basketball fit was Minnesota. That was a square peg, square hole type of fit. I mean, they needed to power forward, he slots in at that spot perfectly. So I don't know if it's 100 percent about basketball fit because you are still wondering how this is overall going to work. But look, I think you see it roster.

**Jonathan Von Tobel** (3:09)
I didn't say basketball fit. I said chance to win a championship.

**Stormy Buonantony** (3:12)
I'm not saying you said it. I'm saying from his perspective, from a basketball standpoint, I would think that that would be more tempting. You know what I'm saying? Because you look at this, I mean, they're a very good team.
I think the allure of just playing with some high-end talent like Tyrese Maxey, like Jalen Brown, like Joel Embiid that I'm sure that on paper, you're looking at and going, hey, our overall ratings to invoke NBA 2K one more time. We're one of the best basketball teams that are going to be put together as a starting five, BJ Edgecomb. But I do wonder, man, what this is going to look like and you sign a two-year deal, correct? So expectation is that he's going to try to be there for a minute, but you cannot deny that this is wildly intriguing. Look at Philly fans like Justin here. Yeah, throw this on the screen. Look at how happy a guy like Justin Emery is. Trust the process, he wore it today. Ignore the guy in the back that's working.