LeBron James is everything Philadelphia wants. And everything it can’t stand | Bryan Armen Graham

The sports-mad city has embraced its new superstar, even as he choppers in from Manhattan and makes no secret of the fact that Philly was never his first choice

Philadelphia has always had an instinctive affinity with athletes who embrace the grind over the glamour. In a place where sports mean a little too much, commitment has traditionally counted for more than celebrity. What it demands above all, sometimes unreasonably, is the sense that they have bought in, that the city and its fortunes matter to them as much as they do to the people who devote their lives to backing its teams.

Few embodied that ethic more completely than Lane Johnson, the Eagles’ revered right tackle and best player for more than a decade, who abruptly announced his retirement Tuesday after 14 seasons, two Super Bowl titles and a career spent neutralizing some of the most freakish physical specimens to walk the earth. Johnson’s quotidian greatness on the offensive line was almost perversely workmanlike. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed just 10 sacks across close to 7,000 pass-blocking snaps in the last 13 years, going entire seasons without letting his man bring down the quarterback. The Eagles won nearly two-thirds of their games when he played and lost nearly two-thirds when he didn’t.

Surely a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he’s eligible in 2031, he earned a place in the first rank of Philadelphia sporting legends alongside Mike Schmidt, Julius Erving and Bobby Clarke, despite playing a position where success is largely measured by how little anyone notices you. But perhaps the most revealing thing Johnson did was decide when to stop. At 36, he walked away from millions in future earnings to prioritize his mental wellbeing and focus on his parents’ health. For a man who made his living holding the line, there was something fitting about knowing when to let go.