Gov. Shapiro claims he pitched Lebron James to join 76ers, makes cameo in Meek Mill’s new music video

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August 16th, 2026 | By Ryan Genova

Governor Josh Shapiro claimed in an interview on the Stephen A. Smith Show that he personally pitched Lebron James to join the 76ers.

“When I saw LeBron James at a dinner about a week ago, I shot my shot. I told him how Philly would love to have him, he could win a championship here, and this would be a great place for him to bring his talents,” Shapiro said. “He obviously made decisions for whatever reasons he did, and I’m damn glad he chose Philly. Thanks to Rich Paul for taking us seriously in Philly. Kudos to Josh Harris and the ownership team, and Mike Gansey and Bob Myers, who have been making moves this offseason. Now he’s got a front core with two guys who know how to win a champ with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. It’s going to be amazing.”

That segment of the interview is below:

Shapiro was described as “relentless” in pursuing the deal, an insider source told Politico.com.

On July 24, Shapiro issued a proclamation declaring the day “LEBRON JAMES DAY” as a welcoming for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and four-time champion to the Philadelphia for the next two seasons. You can listen to Shapiro express his enthusiasm during a segment of 94WIP’s show from late July:

In related news, a new mural at 938 Arch Street depicts James catching a pass from William Penn.

The freehand mural is titled “The Legendary Partner for the City of Brotherly Love” and was reportedly inspired by Shapiro’s proclamation.

6ABC’s video coverage is below:

In other news, Shapiro made a cameo in Meek Mill’s newest single “Nightmares to Dreams”, which was released July 31.

The clip shown in the video is from a brief meeting the two had before Mill took the stage July 4 at the One Philly: Unity Concert for America, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

In 2017, Shapiro—then Pennsylvania’s attorney general—reportedly urged Michael Rubin, founder and CEO of the sports platform Fanatics and a mutual friend of Meek’s and Shapiro’s, to broaden the mission of the #FreeMeek campaign. The movement began shortly after Mill was sentenced to two to four years in state prison following a string of nonviolent technical probation violations.

“Meek got a real raw deal,” Shapiro said in an appearance on the Higher Learning podcast in March.

“I’m a more compassionate person and understanding person for what he’s taught me over the years. And I appreciate him,” Shapiro told Higher Learning. “There are a whole lot of people who are no longer incarcerated, who shouldn’t have been incarcerated in the first place, because of policies I’ve changed in Pennsylvania, decisions I’ve made on pardons and clemencies because of lessons Meek has taught me.”

Check out the music video below:

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Screengrabs: 94WIP, Youtube