PHILADELPHIA (AP) — LeBron James and Bryce Harper spent their careers on a parallel path toward stardom. They were teenage phenoms who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated (back when magazines were cool) and both prodigies were No. 1 overall draft picks straight out of high school.When Harper earned his first chance at testing free agency, there was only one city, one contract that was right for him.Philadelphia.It took a few years, but Harper has some company to fight with him on the short list of top elite athletes who have signed in Philadelphia.Harper and the Phillies.Pete Rose and Kyle Schwarber and the Phillies. Saquon Barkley and Reggie White and the Eagles. In the greatest July signature in Philadelphia since 1776, James has followed Harper from free agency to Philly when he rocked the NBA world and signed a two-year deal for the bargain-basement price of $8 million total — only a smidge more per season than first-round pick Labaron Philon Jr. will earn — that stamped the Sixers as the most compelling team in the league this season.
Keeping tabs on the ballyhooed deal, Bryce Harper.“He’s going to have a great couple of years here, and obviously everyone’s going to expect him to win a championship here like everywhere else,” Harper said. “So nothing new for him. He’s had all the pressure since he was in high school or younger than that.”
