By admin 
It’s been over a month since LeBron James announced he was coming to Philly to finish his career with the 76ers, and the fanfare has not slowed down.
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The Sixers team store at Xfinity Mobile Arena opened on Tuesday (and will be open again on Wednesday), giving fans another opportunity to get their hands on fresh gear ahead of the season, including newly-minted James and Jaylen Brown jerseys.
Fans who lined up outside the store before it opened to secure the new jerseys were greeted by members of the Sixers entertainment team and music as they entered the store.
Victoria Isley, the team’s vice president of partnership solutions, said that while the store is normally open only on game days, the Sixers wanted to do something special to help fans gear up for the season given the hype surrounding the team – and the demand for James jerseys.
“Fans have been so excited since this entire offseason, [with] multiple acquisitions,” Isley said. “So I think we’re ready to have the season start, and I think fans are showing it by lining up early to get their gear and their jerseys ahead of the season.”
Turning the team store into an event, Isley said, was the Sixers organization’s way of showing what it expects the vibes to be like all season. Isley believes the excitement will continue into media day and the start of preseason, carrying all the way into the season opener.
And most fans at the store on Tuesday – like 21-year-old Cam Johnson, from Oak Ridge, N.J. – expect the excitement of the season to culminate with a parade down Broad Street.
“The hype is definitely going to continue,” Johnson said. “Anytime you got LeBron James on your team, you’re going to get heightened media attention, fan attention, all that. But we got the GOAT on our team, in my opinion, two GOATs on our team, and I expect to win a championship because this team made it to the second round last year.
“Now you’re inserting the greatest player of all time with this team – and I think he fits seamlessly – and now you got Jaylen Brown too. I got high expectations.”
While Johnson believes James, 41, to be the best player ever, he thinks that this season, Brown, 29, will make the bigger on-court impact for the Sixers and average more points than James due to the different stages of their careers.
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Still, it was James’ jersey that was the main event on Tuesday.
Stephanie Hannum, 36, drove from Cape May to buy her son a James jersey ahead of his 14th birthday on Wednesday. Hannum used to have to buy her son James merchandise in yellow and purple when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Now, with James on the Sixers, Hannum said she hopes to take her son to more games while wearing red and blue to support his favorite team and favorite player.
“He’s a huge LeBron fan and a 76ers fan,” Hannum said. “As soon as [James] got signed, it was like all he could talk about, so I was like, I need to drive up here to get this today.”
Fortunately, Hannum was able to find one that fit her son. Some fans had complained about a lack of available youth jerseys, but a Sixers representative noted that was due to the demand, and they restocked later in the afternoon.
The combination of Philly fans, known for being an impassioned group, and hard core James’ supporters, who follow him from team to team, has caused the future Hall of Famer’s Sixers jerseys to become a hot commodity. James quickly passed Shohei Ohtani for the most jersey sales after switching teams, according to Fanatics.
When James’ jersey hit Dick’s Sporting Goods, they quickly flew off the shelves there too.
At the team store in South Philly on Tuesday, the turnout was just the latest display of the fan base’s passion and excitement for the season, which Isley said stems from “nothing but love.”
“The fans have been waiting, and I think they’re just so excited to rep the gear, to get LeBron’s jersey, to get Jaylen’s jersey, to get [Tyrese] Maxey’s jersey,” Isley said. “So, it’s incredible to see everyone come out and bring everyone together.”
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This story was originally published August 25, 2026 at 6:02 PM.