Knicks' 2 Early Games vs. 76ers Present a Major Opportunity

Basketball's offseason is nearing its end, causing fans to look ahead at the upcoming calendar. The Knicks will face the 76ers twice in their first six games of the 2026-27 NBA season, opening up the season on Ring Night at Madison Square on Oct. 20 and then less than two weeks later at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philly on Oct. 30.

It’ll provide two early tests against the new-look Sixers, who acquired LeBron James and Jaylen Brown during the offseason, as well as a chance for the Knicks to make a statement.

Early 76ers matchups will give Knicks a much-needed test

Last season, the Knicks didn’t play the Sixers until mid-December.

The Knicks lost their first two 2025-26 meetings (Dec. 19 & Jan. 3) against the Sixers, with both of those games coming within a two-week span following their NBA Cup Final victory over the Spurs. They’d then win a tightly-contested battle on Jan. 24 in Philly before blowing out the 76ers in “The Jose Alvarado Game” to end the season series.

Through the first three games of the season series vs. the 76ers, the Knicks posted just a 116.2 offensive rating (ORTG), 121.6 defensive rating (DRTG), and -5.4 net rating (NETRTG). However, in their final five games vs. the Sixers—including the four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference Semifinals—the Knicks won all five matchups with a 132.6 ORTG, 103.1 DRTG, and +29.5 NETRTG, according to PivotFade.

Jalen Brunson drives with the ball. — Despite a few hiccups, the Knicks had the last laugh against the 76ers last season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Overall on the season, they outscored the 76ers by 16.3 points per 100 possessions, sporting a 126.4 ORTG and 110.1 DRTG. That said, it won't be easy for history to repeat itself.

Offseason of changes

Since the four-game sweep in the playoffs, the 76ers have made changes to their roster. They drafted Labaron Philon Jr. out of the University of Alabama in the first round of the 2026 Draft. They signed Caleb Love and Anfernee Simons to free-agent contracts... and virtually swapped Andre Drummond and Ariel Hukporti with the Knicks.

Their two biggest moves of the offseason were trading Paul George to the Celtics for Brown and signing James. The 76ers, especially their starting lineup, will look different than in past years, so the Knicks winning 17 of their last 22 meetings vs. Philly (including playoffs) doesn’t really have any relevance to the future.

Getting two wins early on against this changed Sixers team would be huge for the Knicks, both for morale and to get them a stranglehold over Philly in the season series and the Eastern Conference standings. Four of their first six games are against projected playoff teams (Philly x2, Boston and Detroit), while also playing the Magic at MSG on Oct. 25.

How 76ers' Big 3 played vs. Knicks in 2025-26

The Knicks played a pair of games against the Lakers last season, but James only played in one of those games—a 112-100 Knicks’ win at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 1. The four-time NBA MVP had 22 points on 62.4% TS% with six assists, but he was a minus-17 in the 12-point defeat. According to CourtSketch, the Lakers had a 109.4 ORTG, 138.1 DRTG, and -28.7 NETRTG in the 35 minutes that he was on the floor in the loss.

Brown played in three of the Celtics’ four meetings vs. the Knicks, sitting out the final game of the four-game season series on April 9 (112-106 Knicks’ win). The Knicks won two of the three games Brown played in during the 2025-26 season, despite him averaging 30.3 PPG on 61.1% TS% in those meetings.

The Celtics were outscored by 13 points in Brown’s minutes in those three games. In fact, the Celtics had a 118 ORTG, 124.9 DRTG, and -6.9 NETRTG in the 109 minutes that Brown was on the floor during the 2025-26 season against the Knicks, per CourtSketch.

In the Feb. 8 matchup between the Knicks and Celtics, head coach Mike Brown infamously entrusted Mo Diawara to guard Brown for several possessions, and Diawara ended up finishing a game-high plus-22 vs. Boston and won the team's Defensive Player of the Game honor. According to NBA tracking stats, the Celtics scored just six points in the 12.6 partial possessions where Diawara guarded Brown—good for a 47.6 DRTG in that matchup.

DPOG Diawara
pic.twitter.com/KPrNdiqYeI
— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) February 9, 2026

Joel Embiid fared well against the Knicks in his two games against them in January during the 2025-26 regular season, averaging a strong 32 PPG on 68.7% TS%. The Sixers had a 121.9 ORTG, 117 DRTG, and +4.9 NETRTG in those two games with Embiid on the floor.

However, Embiid’s lower-half issues and mobility turned him into a monstrous liability in the three games he was active vs. the Knicks in the playoffs. He averaged only 18.7 PPG on 61.3% TS%, as most of that came from his perfect shooting performance in the Game 4 Knicks’ blowout win in Philly to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Sixers had a 111.2 ORTG, 146.4 DRTG, and -35.3 NETRTG across those three playoff games against the Knicks with Embiid on the floor, according to PivotFade.

The important thing about all of these pieces of data is that none of those lineups will see time against the Knicks in the first two meetings of the 2026-27 regular season because of how much the Sixers’ roster has changed this summer. With their new additions, the 76ers will come into the season feeling feisty and wanting revenge on the Knicks.

Knicks must send 76ers a message

What better way for the Knicks to make a statement than letting LeBron and the Sixers know on Ring Night at Madison Square Garden that they’re the defending NBA Champions? There’s no reason to expect the Knicks not to rise to the occasion—that’s how Brunson’s team rolls.

While the Knicks showed in the 2026 playoffs that seeding from the regular season didn’t matter, winning games always helps boost a team, and winning big games is what the Knicks did all season long in 2025-26. Last season, the Knicks consistently performed when the light shone most, whether it was the NBA Cup Final against the Spurs, Christmas Day against the Cavs, or during their dominant playoff run that rewarded them with an NBA championship.

A statement win over the refurbished 76ers on Ring Night, and especially a win in Philly a few games later, would give the Knicks a much-needed strong start in their title defense.

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