Watch Dawn Staley's priceless reaction to LeBron James going to the Philadelphia 76ers

The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team are preparing for the upcoming 2026-27 season, as head coach Dawn Staley enters her 19th season as head coach. The Philadelphia, Penn. native has compiled a 683-194 overall record across her tenures at both Temple and South Carolina. 

Coach Staley, a product of North Philly, like several other Philadelphia 76er fans, was ecstatic to hear that one of the greatest NBA basketball players of all time, LeBron James, was signing with the 76ers. The news of James going to Philly broke on Friday afternoon. 

Shortly after the news broke, Staley reacted to the signing on her Instagram story. In the video, she is seen asking James if he needs any recommendations on restaurants in Philly, or if his children need any help picking school districts:

Staley's reference to Savannah in the video is for James' wife, whom he has been married to since 2013. Not going to lie, if I was LeBron, I would totally take Coach Staley up on this. 

Before Staley won three national championships with the Gamecocks, her playing days started at Murrell Dobbins Vocational High School in Philadelphia. She played four seasons for Virginia in college. During her time with the Cavs, she helped lead Virginia to three Final Fours and a national title game appearance. 

She spent a lone season playing professionally overseas in France before joining the WNBA in 1996. She spent 12 seasons in the W, and was a six-time All-Star from 2001-2006. For Team USA in the Olympics, she won three gold medals from 1996-2004, and was the head coach when the women's team took gold in 2021. 

She then started her coaching career at Temple, just outside where she grew up in South Philadelphia. From 2000-2008, she compiled a 172-80 record, including six NCAA Tournament appearances with four Atlantic 10 championships. 

When she is coaching, Staley supports several Philadelphia professional teams by wearing their gear while coaching, including the Eagles and 76ers. Although Coach Staley will be busy coaching her team when the season starts in November, don't be surprised if she makes it to a 76ers game to watch LeBron play in October when the 2026 NBA Regular season starts. 

Hopefully this is just the start of the Staley-LeBron Philly relationship.

ALSO READ: South Carolina football Nike jersey combinations revealed for 2026 season

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