Bryce Harper, Trea Turner welcome LeBron James to Philadelphia
· Yahoo Sports
PHILADELPHIA – On the day news broke that LeBron James will make a living for the 76ers across the street at Xfinity Mobile Arena, those who work inside Citizens Bank Park lauded the addition.
“I’m excited,” Phillies manager Don Mattingly, who played some basketball himself growing up in Indiana, said before his team’s game against the Yankees. “I love basketball.”
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That was a common feeling as Phillies Bryce Harper and Trea Turner, stars in their own right, welcomed one of pro sports’ all-time luminaries.
“He's one of the greatest to do it,” Harper said. “He's gonna have a great couple years here, and obviously everybody's gonna expect him to win a championship, here and everywhere else, so nothing new for him.
“He's had all the pressure since he was in high school, younger than that. So obviously, I wish him the best. He's an incredible competitor, and you know he wants to win. So it's pretty cool.”
Turner, a native of Florida, said he’d rooted for the Miami Heat when James played there.
James won NBA titles with the Heat in 2012 and 2013 and will be expected to spark the 76ers to their first since 1983.
“I got a chance to watch him play quite a bit,” Turner said. “I think it's pretty cool having one of the greatest basketball players ever to play in the same city, so I'm excited for those who haven't gotten a chance to watch him play.”
Turner added that James joining Jaylen Brown, recently acquired from Boston, to join an already solid Sixers nucleus adds to the appeal.
“I think it's going to be pretty special,” Turner said. “Hopefully they stay healthy and come together.”
Each was asked what advice they might give James about playing in front of and for Philadelphia’s demanding fans.
Both agreed James is quite adept and experienced in that endeavor, especially having already played in the larger Los Angeles market in recent years for the Lakers.
“A great city to come play in, fan-base wise, sportswise,” Harper said. “I feel like the city's in a really good spot with all the teams right now from us to the Sixers to the Eagles to the Flyers making the postseason this year as well, so just a really good spot to be in.”
But Turner did say “The city loves winning, so win.”
Tommie Neubauer, the former Middletown High athletic director and ex-DIAA chief who works security at Phillies games, compared James’ addition to another long-ago signing of a rival player.
“It’s like the signing of Pete Rose,” Neubauer said, referring to the Phillies getting the perennial Cincinnati Reds all-star in 1979.
“You’ve gotta respect the talent even if you don’t like the person.”
Contact Kevin Tresolini at [email protected] and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Bryce Harper, Trea Turner welcome LeBron James to Philadelphia