LeBron James Sixers Debut: 10 Points, 8-for-8 at the Line

The LeBron James Sixers debut finally happened on Thursday night in Brooklyn, and it looked weird in the best way: a 41-year-old icon in a Philadelphia jersey, still tossing chalk at center court like nothing changed. The preseason game ended in a 114-108 loss to the Nets, but the real story was the passing clinic, according to ESPN.

A new jersey, the same old ritual

LeBron sat at the same visitors' locker room cubby he has used for years at Barclays Center. His jersey still carried No. 23 on the front and back, and fans held up their phones for the pregame chalk toss, as they always have. ESPN's Dave McMenamin noted it was anything but old hat for a 24-year veteran suiting up for the fourth, and likely last, franchise of his career.

"I mean, it felt a little different," James said after the game. "Obviously, just wearing a new uniform, but the game is the game." He also said he was happy to log minutes with teammates he had been going at in practice for two weeks.

The numbers: 10 points, one shot, 8-for-8 at the line

James played 18 minutes, all in the first half, and finished with 10 points, four rebounds and a team-high five assists. He attempted only one field goal and made it, banking in his first bucket as a Sixer. The rest of his points came at the foul line, where he went a perfect 8-for-8. Philadelphia outscored Brooklyn by 10 points while he was on the floor.

His teammate VJ Edgecombe joked about the scoring chase. "He already got the record," Edgecombe said. "He don't care to score anymore." Edgecombe finished with 11 points after a three-quarter-court feed from James set up an early layup just over a minute into the game.

Passing wizardry and a loaded starting five

The debut also doubled as the first preseason look at Philadelphia's planned starting lineup: Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Edgecombe and James. That group outscored the Nets by two points in the 10 minutes it shared the floor in the first half. Brown scored 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting and Maxey added 14 on 5-for-8.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse was blunt about the passing. "He's a great, great passer; it was certainly on display tonight," Nurse said. Writing for Yahoo Sports, Kyle Neubeck of ALLCITY PHLY said James has "every pass in the game available," and floated that a 10-assist-per-game season is not unreasonable with this group around him.

The clunky part: Embiid and the turnovers

Not everything was smooth. According to Yahoo Sports, the Sixers coughed up 14 turnovers in the first half, seven of them from Embiid, who finished with six points on 1-for-5 shooting and eight turnovers in 24 minutes. "I got to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Embiid said, adding that his first few games usually look like this.

Brown said he and Embiid need to "figure some things out in terms of spacing," and the two even tangled up on a play in the first half. Brown said he flexed his knee a little but it seemed fine. Nurse still sounded upbeat, saying he was extremely happy to see Embiid healthy and playing hard after injuries sidelined him the past few seasons.

What's next for Philly

The Sixers have two preseason games left, both against Boston: Saturday on the road and Oct. 16 at home. Nurse plans to play his starters again in one of them and stretch their minutes into the second half, with sources telling ESPN the finale is more likely. The regular season opens Oct. 20 at Madison Square Garden, where the defending champion Knicks will raise their title banner.

James summed up the work ahead. "We're still trying to put each other in a position to be successful and complement each other the best way we can out on the floor," he said. "But it's going to take some time." For now, the vibe check is simple: chemistry is a work in progress, but the passing is already elite. Catch up on more hoops coverage in our sports section and our culture coverage.

Sources: ESPN and Yahoo Sports; also see CBC Sports for the rest of the night in sports.