​Image Credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.LeBron James finished his first public scrimmage as a Philadelphia 76er on Saturday, praised the progress of his new team and then headed for Manhattan by helicopter.Photos obtained by The New York Post showed James arriving at the VIP Heliport on West 30th Street after leaving Philadelphia. TMZ put the flight at roughly 45 minutes.It was the second highly visible helicopter trip of James’ first week of Sixers training camp. Reporters had already heard his aircraft departing the team’s Camden, New Jersey, facility after an earlier practice, while James has confirmed that he plans to maintain residences in both Philadelphia and New York.That arrangement has also produced an eye-catching hypothetical price tag. PhillyVoice calculated that 67 round-trip helicopter commutes during a regular season could cost approximately $804,000 at quoted charter rates. The estimate assumes James flies for every Sixers home game and 26 home practices.James Flew to Manhattan After His First Public Sixers ScrimmageBron buckets in South Philly 🪣 https://t.co/mXfuhqDgsA— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 3, 2026James’ flight came after one of the first major public events of his Philadelphia tenure. Close to 10,000 people attended the Sixers’ annual Blue x White Scrimmage at Xfinity Mobile Arena, giving fans their first extended look at the franchise’s dramatically rebuilt lineup.NBA.com, carrying an Associated Press report, said James played alongside Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid. Maxey connected with James for an alley-oop, James buried a deep 3-pointer and he also delivered a behind-the-back pass to Edgecombe during the exhibition.“It was a great first step in a direction we’re trying to go,” James said afterward. He described Philadelphia’s first week as welcoming while acknowledging that he was still adjusting to the travel and time away from his family.His next trip happened considerably faster than the drive between Philadelphia and Manhattan. The Post reported that his helicopter landed at the West 30th Street VIP Heliport after a flight of roughly 45 minutes, compared with a drive that can take around 90 minutes to two hours depending on traffic.A Helicopter Had Already Carried Him Out of Sixers PracticeLeBron James left Sixers practice today in a helicopter 👀 https://t.co/fkS2HEfD4U— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) September 29, 2026The Saturday trip followed a similar departure from the Sixers’ Camden training facility earlier in the week. PhillyVoice reported that journalists could hear a helicopter leaving the building as Anfernee Simons finished his media availability after the team’s first practice.Tyrese Maxey had been waiting outside the facility for transportation of his own and compared his situation with that of his famous new teammate.“One of us left on a helicopter, the other one was sitting on the curb,” Maxey told reporters, according to PhillyVoice.Two helicopt