76ers add coach with connection to LeBron James

LeBron James. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

76ers add coach with connection to LeBron James

By Paul White | Last updated Aug 21, 2026 5:14 PM ET

Having forward LeBron James on a roster typically meant that a team would be forced to undergo wholesale changes. The 22-time All-Star’s former teams — the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers — all made major trades within one year of landing him.

While he’s too old to hold that kind of gravitas on a team, his influence is still felt in other areas. The Philadelphia 76ers, James’ new team, signed shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope earlier this offseason, who played on Los Angeles’ 2020 championship team with the 41-year-old star.

Now, James’ impact is being made on the coaching staff, with the 76ers hiring an assistant coach who has had a ton of success with their new star in the past.

76ers hire LeBron James’ longtime assistant coach Phil Handy

ESPN’s Marc Spears reported that the team is bringing on Phil Handy as an assistant coach, who has had multiple stints with James and 76ers coach Nick Nurse.

Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Phil Handy is finalizing a deal to become an assistant coach with Philadelphia Sixers head coach Nick Nurse, a source said. Handy previously worked with Nurse in Toronto and with LeBron James with the Cavs and Lakers. Great addition for Nurse. pic.twitter.com/uzD9hYu4Fn
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 21, 2026

Handy was an assistant coach with the Cavaliers from 2013-2018, serving on multiple staffs and helping James win the franchise’s first championship in 2016. Then, he reunited with James in 2019 when he joined the Lakers and became a three-time champion in 2020. Handy also won another championship in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors, though that one was with 76ers head coach Nick Nurse, not James.

It’s unclear what the longtime assistant’s exact role is going to be yet, but another person in the building with championship experience can only be good for the 76ers. Handy has had a ton of success in the NBA, and the Sixers are hoping he can replicate it with them.

Paul White

Paul White is a contract writer from Philadelphia who attended Penn State University. He has contributed hundreds of stories about the NFL and NBA over the years and now brings that experience over to Yardbarker. He is a lifelong Philadelphia sports fan looking to bring the same passion from his city to sports media.

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