SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – JUNE 03: Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks shoots the ball between Stephon Castle #5 and Julian Champagnie #30 of the San Antonio Spurs during the fourth quarter in Game One of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center on June 03, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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Well that didn’t take long, did it? The New York Knicks are set to kick the season off with a bang by welcoming the Philadelphia 76ers into town on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The 76ers made noise this offseason by trading for Jaylen Brown along with winning the “LeBron James Sweepstakes”— the future Hall of Famer decided to sign with Philadelphia to great fanfare in late July. The depth acquisitions of Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope should give the team some much needed depth this season— a characteristic that was noticeably absent during their playoff run last season.
It is customary for the defending NBA champions to play the first night of the following regular season. In this case, the Knicks will be playing after the Boston Celtics face the Detroit Pistons at 3 p.m. It is likely that New York will be receiving their championship rings on this night, but no official announcement has currently been made.
Where: Madison Square Garden
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC/Peacock
What to Watch For:
The rings! The New York Knicks defied years of failure to prevail in extraordinary fashion by beating the San Antonio Spurs for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The Knicks have had plenty of opportunities to party with fans, but they haven’t formally had a celebration at their home base at Madison Square Garden yet. The coronation is not guaranteed to be on this date, but it is likely that the organization honors the team on this day after 53 years of waiting.
James will possibly begin playing in his final season of his career on this night. The buzz in the building will be palpable as the Philadelphia 76ers have configured a juggernaut that is set to face off against a team that will be looking to re-assert the dominance they showcased during these past playoffs. Since they will be playing in the same division James will have at least one more game to play at Madison Square Garden this season, but none will likely have the media frenzy this one will.
Joel Embiid is often booed vociferously when he walks into New York due to a playoff series in which he made some very questionable choices. It’ll be interesting if the vitriol is as evident this time around. Mitchell Robinson is now gone (the victim of Embiid’s leg grab in 2024) and the team has now climbed the proverbial mountaintop. Only time will tell if Embiid will receive the same treatment he has in the past.
The New York Knicks have traditionally been one of the teams that have played on Christmas Day and will now get to do so against a growing rival. The Spurs and Knicks obviously clashed during the NBA Finals in a classic series that went wire to wire in each of the five games. The two teams did square off against each other on this day in 2024 when Victor Wembanyama was starting to assert himself as a star. The Knicks ended up coming up victorious with one of the best performances of Mikal Bridges’ career.
Where: Madison Square Garden
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC/ESPN
What to Watch For:
It’s likely that the schedule makers will make this the first matchup the two teams will have against each other since they last saw each other in the NBA Finals. Wembanyama struggled at times to generate his own offense last season so that may be a facet of his game that is shown off in this game.
Dylan Harper’s ascendance took on new heights over the course of the series in June to the point that fans of San Antonio were clamoring for him to start over De’Aaron Fox. That will be an interesting subplot to monitor over the course of this season as Stephon Castle, Fox and Harper are all worthy of playing big minutes. Mitch Johnson will have to make some tough decisions for the foreseeable future if Harper continues to build off of his numbers from his rookie season.
Similar to Embiid, it will be fascinating to see the reaction that Wembanyama receives from the fans at Madison Square Garden. His play during the series certainly toed the line of recklessness and he very well may have been suspended for Game 6 of the NBA Finals if the Spurs had won the game. Regardless, this game will be a barometer of how serious of a villain Wembanyama has become in New York.
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