WATCH: Phillies welcome LeBron James with the Phanatic doing the signature Chalk Toss celly

Friday night’s Phillies game against the Yankees was a disaster but the Phanatic delivered the perfect welcoming message to LeBron James.

The Phillies made sure to welcome him to town in the most perfectly Philadelphia way possible. The Phillie Phanatic kicked off the welcome party by doing LeBron’s iconic pregame chalk toss at Citizens Bank Park, then held up a “Welcome LeBron” sign that drew a huge ovation from the crowd.

Phanatic x LeBron James Chalk Toss

The Phillie Phanatic celebrated LeBron James coming to Philly with his signature chalk toss. And you could see all of the fans that wore LeBron jerseys to the Phillies game last night. 📸 @Phillies pic.twitter.com/Cnt9vmoYE5

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) July 25, 2026

Absolute Cinema

The greatest basketball player who ever lived signs with the Sixers and within 24 hours the Phanatic is out on the field mimicking his signature ritual in front of 40,000 fans who came to watch baseball and ended up cheering for a basketball signing.

We are all witnesses pic.twitter.com/4oxthpDF2n

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 25, 2026

It’s Not Just The Phanatic Either. Bryce Harper Is Fired Up

Harper got asked about the signing and gave it his full endorsement. “Yeah, pretty cool. Obviously one of the best to ever do it. To come in and join that club over there. They got a good young group over there that’s probably a lot of fun to play with. Really cool for the city to see him come and play here.”

Then he zoomed out to the bigger picture of where Philadelphia sports are right now. “Just a great city to come play in. Fan base-wise, sports-wise, 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 it to the postseason this year as well. Just a really good spot to be in.”

Harper isn’t wrong. Think about the state of this city right now. The Eagles are the defending-ish NFC East favorites coming off a Super Bowl run with Saquon and Hurts. The Phillies are two games back in the NL East with the best rotation in baseball and six All-Stars. The Flyers made the playoffs, won a round, and had one of the most aggressive offseasons in the NHL under Briere. And now the Sixers just landed LeBron James to pair with Embiid and Maxey.

Philadelphia Is the Center of the Sports World Right Now

There has maybe never been a better time to be a Philadelphia sports fan across all four teams at once. Every franchise is either contending, building toward contention, or coming off a championship run, and the LeBron James signing put a stamp on a stretch that already felt special. The Phanatic doing the chalk toss captured it perfectly, because it wasn’t just a Sixers moment, it was a Philadelphia moment, and the whole city showed up to celebrate it.

The Phillie Phanatic:

-throws the LeBron chalk in the air
-dunks on a New York fan in a Knicks jersey
-sets up the perfect opportunity for Philadelphia to… 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑜𝑛𝑔 pic.twitter.com/6NuKAj0N1f

— 97.5 The Fanatic (@975TheFanatic) July 25, 2026

The Phillies lost to the Yankees on Friday, which was miserable to watch, so I’ll share this tweet which I thought was absolutely hilarious.

“Phillies” trying to join in on the LeBron celebrations pic.twitter.com/iEAEMyFgJx https://t.co/eMVdiUXoNV

— Eagles Fan Central (@PhilaFanCentral) July 25, 2026

Still, the bigger picture is that this city is rolling in a way it rarely has across every sport simultaneously. LeBron James is here. The Eagles are loaded. The Phillies are approaching the trade deadline in a pennant race and the Flyers are building something real. No better place to be than Philly.

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