No billboards were needed this time — but one Pennsylvania businessman is convinced his 2018 roadside campaign helped plant the seed that eventually brought LeBron James to Philadelphia.
Back in February 2018, a businessman named Asher Raphael paid to have three billboards erected just outside of Cleveland in a playful attempt to recruit James to the Philadelphia 76ers. The effort seemed to fall flat when James chose to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and head to the Los Angeles Lakers later that year.
But as it turns out, the idea may have simply been ahead of its time. James announced Friday that he is signing with the 76ers — calling it the “last decision” of his NBA career. For Raphael, that announcement felt like a long-delayed victory.
“I was in the middle of a board meeting and my phone was going off like something was on fire,” said Raphael, the co-CEO of Power Home Remodeling, a Pennsylvania-based company with locations across the country. “And it was people from all walks of life, employees, former employees, friends from all over the country being like: ‘It worked. Process completed.’ It was the coolest thing.”
The billboard concept was loosely inspired by the award-winning 2017 film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” and was meant to be a lighthearted gesture. It ended up going viral.
Raphael had the signs printed with messages reading “Philly Wants LeBron” and “Complete The Process” — a reference to the 76ers’ well-known rebuilding era and their hopes of becoming a championship contender. A third billboard depicted James alongside the Sixers’ starting lineup at the time: Dario Saric, Ben Simmons, Robert Covington, and Joel Embiid. Of those four players, only Embiid is still with Philadelphia.
Raphael had considered putting up new billboards this past summer but ultimately held off. As it turned out, no additional push was necessary.
“We just wanted to drop a seed that Philly wanted him,” Raphael said. “I think a lot of people think of Philly as a great sports town, but opposing teams think of it as kind of an intimidating place. And we just wanted to drop a seed that he would be welcomed here and he’d love it.”
The original billboard stunt gave Raphael’s company some public exposure in 2018 and, he said, gave his employees a real morale boost. Now he believes James teaming up with Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, and VJ Edgecombe gives Philadelphia a genuine shot at an NBA title — something the city hasn’t celebrated since 1983.
“Philly, right now, is on fire,” Raphael said. “At that moment, we became an undeniable contender. And if he comes to Philadelphia and we get that title and that trophy after 44 years, the country will see what Sixers fans are about.”
