VSiN Weekend Morning Line | July 25, 2026 | Hour 2

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**SPEAKER_2** (0:21)
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**SPEAKER_1** (0:39)
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**SPEAKER_2** (0:49)
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**SPEAKER_3** (1:01)
This is VSiN, the SportsBetting Network. Welcome to the VSiN Weekend Morning Line on VSiN, the SportsBetting Network.

**Marc Malusis** (1:20)
Ah, yes, a good Saturday morning to one and all. It is the VSiN Weekend Morning Line. Marc Malusis with you right here on VSiN, the SportsBetting Network. And the big news, as we discussed in hour number one, kickoff hour number two, is that the king, Lebron James, has made his decision where he will play basketball for what turns out to be the next couple of years. And that is gonna be out in the city of Brotherly Love with the Philadelphia 76ers. And when you take a look at Lebron James and what he has accomplished over the course of his career, it's remarkable as he's gonna be entering his 24th NBA season, four-time NBA champion, four-time NBA MVP, 22-time All-Star, 21-time All-NBA team, six-time All-Defensive team. I mean, games played, minutes played, field goals, points in NBA history, number one and all of that. I mean, it is a remarkable career. We were just chatting with Ty Butler, and I don't think we'll ever see anybody accomplish what he's been able to accomplish, carry the brilliance or the length of time that he's been able to do it. I understand people get carried away or tired of the drama and everything that comes along with it, and grew impatient for him to finally make a decision. But ultimately, I think he made the right decision. If it was not going to be Oklahoma City or San Antonio in the Western Conference, and people were making the argument for the San Antonio Spurs to help that team get them over the hump. But it's a very, very young team, very, very talented team. I think for Lebron James, Golden State really didn't make much sense.
Too old. I don't think he can necessarily win an NBA championship. I understand that there's the thought process or reports of him trying to get, trying to work the back channels to get Anthony Davis and to get Kyrie Irving, and to see if Kyrie could rejoin him in Cleveland as a member of the Cavaliers. That didn't necessarily work out because Dallas did not have the appetite for dealing Kyrie Irving, and there's all these back channel stories. But ultimately, I think Lebron, without any of those other machinations happening, put himself in the best possible position to win, and the markets have reacted. As you take a look at the betting markets in terms of the futures markets on the Philadelphia 76ers, and you wanna say, well, listen, Lebron James is 41, soon to be 42 What exactly can he add to a team? Well, the answer to that is a lot. I mean, Lebron James could still play this game at a very big time level. Now, can he carry the workload that he once did when he was in his late 20s, early 30s, now in his early 40s? No, he cannot. Father time catches up with everybody. There's no doubt about it, but his impact is unquestioned. As you take a look at the Philadelphia 76ers odds with Lebron and without him. I mean, think about this. The pre-Lebron decision, post-Jalen Brown trade, the odds of the Philadelphia 76ers to win an NBA championship were 20 to 1 Post-Lebron, 9 to 1 To win the Eastern Conference, plus 750 Post-Lebron, plus 370 To win the Atlantic Division was plus 450 Cut in half at plus 220
It is remarkable when you look at the impact of Lebron James.
It really is. He talks about this being his last decision, which I believe it will be. Not surprising to me when I got the Shams notification yesterday, that Lebron James was signing with the Philadelphia 76ers, and then you see his reaction or his tweet and explaining it on social media as well, why he decided to sign up with the Philadelphia 76ers. Listen, you look at the starting five for Philadelphia, it's really, really good. It makes sense. He puts himself in, do I think the value is there from a handicapping perspective? I don't. I mean, not right now. Like I would not go out and hop online and bet the Philadelphia 76ers to win an NBA title at nine to one right now. I wouldn't bet them to win the Eastern Conference at plus 370 I think the value more is there. I think the reaction would be that there's more value now inherently in the New York Knicks at plus 330 I would even lean in to say the Indiana Pacers, given the fact that they're going to get a healthy Tyrese Halliburton for a full 82 games during the course of this NBA regular season and the odds of it all working out for Philadelphia year one with Lebron James doesn't really make much sense. You know, it really doesn't. Given the fact of the age of Lebron, given the fact the fragility when you're looking at Joel Embiid, it's a little bit of a bridge too far for me. But from a narrative perspective, it works. From an NBA perspective, it works. From an interest perspective, it works. From a rivalry perspective between Philadelphia and New York, it does work. And I'm not saying it's an impossibility.