The NBA schedule sticks to tradition on the first day of the season: The reigning champion celebrates its title and then hosts a very good or great team to launch the new campaign.
This tried-and-true formula is designed to yank the curtains open rather than pull them, provide some fireworks, and lay the groundwork for the next several months.
The matchup should be one for the ages this season with the New York Knicks being officially crowned for the first time in 53 years. And on the other bench at MSG: LeBron James, starting his record 24th season, now with his fourth team, the potentially formidable Philadelphia 76ers.
There are two other games carried on NBC/Peacock on Oct. 20 — the San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder in a Western Conference Finals rematch, and the Detroit Pistons vs. Boston Celtics, strong Eastern contenders, tip off the action at 3 p.m. ET.
That’s appointment TV all day Tuesday, which by the end of it, Madison Square Garden will be littered with lasting memories and maybe some hints of what’s to come.
LeBron makes Sixers debut at MSG
This heavyweight Knicks-Sixers game holds equal intrigue for both teams. Putting these divisional rivals on the floor was an easy call and made possible by the headlining player who still commands attention and respect.
LeBron will attach another fascinating chapter to his career at tipoff. He remains productive as he approaches 42, arguably a top 15 player among his much-younger peers and possible game-changer at this advanced stage and age — astonishingly so.
When he chose to leave the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency this summer, it was done with a purpose: to seek rejuvenation, a new challenge. And of course a fifth championship.
LeBron’s instincts and basketball soul search led him to the Sixers, a surprising decision only because he had no previous history or deep relationship with the city, franchise or any of his new teammates. While Miami and Cleveland wept, Philly rejoiced. Suddenly, the Sixers, exhausted by years of waiting for The Process to pay off with a ring, have a legitimate chance.
The reason: This Philly team goes deeper than just LeBron. Getting Jaylen Brown from the rival Celtics in a stunning summer trade looms as among the most important transactions in franchise history. Not only is Brown still in his prime at 29, not only is he coming off an MVP-contending season where he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and five assists … but he was acquired just before LeBron signed as a free agent.
Which means if LeBron was ever on the fence about going elsewhere this summer, the Brown trade was the tipping point in Philly’s favor.
And it’s deeper than LeBron and Brown. There’s Tyrese Maxey, a certified scorer in the league, who also was All-NBA last season. And VJ Edgecombe made the All-Rookie team. And finally, there’s the one who’ll ultimately decide the Sixers’ fate, oft-injured Joel Embiid, a former MVP whose main goal is to finish the season the way he’ll start it — on two feet instead of the bench.
This is an intoxicating basketball mix that has raised the temperature in Philadelphia and no doubt will do the same in the Garden against the defending champions. The Sixers were swept by the Knicks in the playoffs last spring but obviously that was without LeBron, and also a healthy Embiid, who missed one game and battled ailments in the others. This will be a far different Philly team.
The Knicks, by all accounts though, will not surrender easily if at all — on Opening Night or the season. This team is built to last and repeat as champs, not just on talent, but purpose. The determination they showed during their 2026 post-season run was convincing enough. And the way they constantly rallied from behind and closed out the NBA Finals, with a historic comeback in one game, proved the resiliency of the group led by Jalen Brunson in the victory over the Spurs.
It’s safe to assume the Spurs learned lessons from that five-game series, where they led by double-digit margins in their four losses. Therefore, the upcoming season is one of redemption for the mostly-young group, which spent a portion of the off-season training with Victor Wembanyama in his Paris hometown.
That demonstrated unity and growth and a purpose, which the Spurs will be anxious to display against their biggest threat in the West if not the entire NBA.
West Finals Rematch
Oklahoma City fits that description; after all, the Thunder are only 14 months removed from a championship. Also, despite a summer of reshuffling — key figures from the bench were rerouted to other teams mainly for financial reasons — the Thunder return all of the necessary pieces and ingredients for a championship rebound.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a two-time MVP. Jalen Williams is fully mended from injuries that interrupted his 2025-26 season. And Chet Holmgren is certainly smarter, if not hungrier, after losing a duel against Wemby in the playoffs last season.
The Spurs were a constant irritation for OKC, beating the Thunder eight times in 12 games, playoffs included. While it’s always tricky to assume anything in the NBA, even from one season to the next, the Spurs and Thunder are constructed to annoy each other for the foreseeable future — therefore it makes sense to restart their rivalry on Opening Night.
East Battle in Detroit
The top two teams in the East from last season.
LeBron James' Sixers debut against the defending champs at MSG.
A rematch of the epic 2026 WCF.WHAT A SLATE OF GAMES FOR OPENING NIGHT! pic.twitter.com/ELOrf72DGy
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) August 11, 2026
There’s also a Pistons-Celtics tip which, on almost any other day, would stand alone on its merits. Even with the understandable commotion swirling around the Sixers this season, and the presence of the Knicks, what’s lost is that the Pistons had the best record in the East for all but the first few months of last season. That longevity doesn’t happen by accident.
It happened because Cade Cunningham stamped himself as a complete player — someone who elevated the performance of his teammates through his passing and leadership, played well defensively, finished among the league scoring leaders and came through in clutch situations.
The Celtics have won an average of nearly 60 games the last three seasons although this one will be without Brown, who helped carry the club in 2025-26 virtually without Jayson Tatum. Therefore, as he seeks a full season with a repaired Achilles, Tatum must navigate as a solo star, which might require an MVP-flavored effort if the Celtics intend to approach 60 wins again.
New York’s Celebration
The epicenter of Opening Night will be in New York City, though, as it should. It’s a night the Knicks and their fans have waited over five decades to experience. It’s when Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby will align with Walt Frazier and Willis Reed and Earl Monroe. It’s the night where past Knicks champions become linked with the present.
The demand among fans to be seen and to witness this game against LeBron and the Sixers and the raising of the championship banner will be on par with any Finals game in New York last summer. That’s because the NBA will open this season with a level of anticipation that matches the way last season ended.
You can’t ask more from a season opener in that regard.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
