Waiting for a new season can be excruciating, tiresome, and hard. It can feel like an eternity. As a fan, you are usually left with questions: why did the past season go up in flames, and what needs to happen to finally, please, finally do better in the future? To somehow reach that goal that many franchises chase for decades. Or 53 years, to be exact, as the Knicks had.
Of course, our beloved ‘Bockers ended that wait, and everything felt a lot different this past offseason. It was the dream that we
never wanted to stop dreaming, the summer we all never thought was possible. While others lived and died by some unknown rookie’s shooting form in Las Vegas, we were busy scheduling Late Night TV gigs, rewatching YouTube highlights 24/7, and emptying bank accounts for the next very special and definitely not limited championship edition of some sort. The Knicks, and we as fans, deservedly basked in the glory of the franchise’s third title, an event that will never be forgotten and will be cherished forever. And yet a new season is still knocking on the door.
A rarely up and mostly down preseason for the Knicks didn’t exactly worry anybody, but now the time of, “Ahh, we’ll get em next time” is over. The real games begin this week, and if New York is ready for the challenge yet is anybody’s guess. The Knicks have shown their mental fortitude plenty of times, especially during their magical playoff run that led them to the NBA’s promised land last June. But dialing up your focus on a night when a banner goes up in the rafters and the players get their championship rings is something entirely different. Imagine focusing on your daily tasks when your biggest life achievement is seemingly celebrated by everybody? Except, of course, by the guys who flew their helicopters down I-95 to derail the festivities.
Sixers hope to spoil Knicks’ big night
28.3, 26.9, 20.9, 28.7, and a meager 16—those are last year’s point averages for Philadelphia’s projected starters this upcoming season. To say that they got a bit of scoring potential would be an understatement. Somehow the 76ers found a way to turn one of the ugliest roster setups in the Association into a serious, realistic “All In” push for a championship. After the Boston Celtics basically gift-wrapped Jaylen Brown in a trade for them, they also got some good news from LeBron James, who decided that his last basketball stand should be in Philly.
Mike Gansey, Elton Brand and Jameer Nelson, the newly formed braintrust behind the Sixers’ surge, also managed to complement the headline-grabbing moves by making some smart additions along the edges of the roster. Dean Wade and his nagging defense arrived from Cleveland, the lazy but gifted Anfernee Simons signed for little money after an unremarkable stint in Chicago, and former NBA champ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be counted on to provide veteran leadership. On top of that, the Sixers found Labaron Philon Jr. in the Draft, a lanky, creative combo guard who won’t score the 22 points per contest he put up for Alabama but who will clearly add another dimension off Philly’s bench.
But even if the rest of the roster is more solid than usual for a freshly formed top-heavy superteam, in the end everything will come down to Philly’s big guns next season—for better or worse. Individually, they are maybe the most talented group in the entire league, and all their stars have big-time playmaking potential next to their obvious scoring punch. Nick Nurse will have the mammoth task of somehow cramping all these individuals into a collective game plan and already tried to do so in the preseason. What ultimately transpired, though, was less five guys pulling on one string and more turns of creating advantages in selected two man games. Which could already be quite a lot in Philly’s case.
Massive potential, question marks for 76ers
The new look Sixers have gigantic potential in the pick-and-roll and can utilize all sorts of different weapons. Imagine defending Tyrese Maxey’s drive around a Joel Embiid screen first and then also matching up with a LeBron James-Jaylen Brown two-man game on the weak side. As a cherry on top, you have VJ Edgecombe flying in along the baseline. Yeah, not really fun—at least not for most teams in the league that will already be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of talent Philly can roll out on any given night. How often they roll, of course, is one of the many questions surrounding this group.
Because for all their potential, the 76ers are rail-thin in the frontcourt after former Knick Ariel Hukporti ruptured his Achilles. Fate has it that this is exactly the spot where Philly has to count on Joel Embiid to at least be somewhat healthy, something he isn’t exactly known for, to say the least. The talkative center seemed to have shed a few pounds in the offseason and probably looked healthier than he did in a long time lately. Yet make no mistake, those banged up knees are still there and will be an enormous obstacle for any type of defense the Sixers will try to muster. Especially beside an aging LeBron James who needs his off nights more often these days, too.
Besides the daunting task of managing a roster crying for chemistry and load management, at the same time the new Philadelphia 76ers might present one of the more interesting social studies basketball has seen in years. A self-absorbed, in his eyes always underappreciated, streaming Aficionado mixing with an even more self-absorbed, aging superstar who needs the limelight like flies need you know what – lean back and watch some terror on the squad unfold. It surely can get interesting. For Philly, only as long as the 7-foot-1 floppy disc doesn’t want to be treated like a leftover and joins in on the fun, as well. Their promising young, exciting and likable backcourt, you ask? Well, there’s always the backseat. All jokes, opponent’s wishful thinking, and LeBronisms about happiness aside, this thing could fall apart before Embiid’s first scheduled night off.
A banner going up at the Garden
On Tuesday, you can bet that the Liberty Ballers will try to avenge some of their latest playoff losses at the hands of the Knicks. They have way more to prove than New York, and that motivation alone might be enough to offset some of the obvious Xs and Os challenges Philadelphia faces against Mike Brown’s guys. We all saw what Jalen Brunson and his friends did to Joel Embiid in the pick-and-roll last season, and there is no reason to believe they can’t do it again this year, too.
Opening Night often is about more than Xs and Os, though. It’s about managing emotions, shaking off rust, and getting accustomed to live game action again. It’s about dealing with new teammates, new expectations, and your body feeling different than it did half a year ago. For the Knicks, it will be a tightrope act of celebrating past accomplishments while caring about a contest dwarfed by those deeds. They wouldn’t be the first veteran-led title team that mismanages a night like that.
But even if things don’t go well on the court for the Knicks, do not despair, fans, as hard as it might be to watch LeBron and company prance around MSG like they won something meaningful. They won’t have, unlike what your Knicks did in June, which will be celebrated for one more night and for good reason. Many things (like players’ hairlines) aren’t forever; banners and titles are, though. Enjoy every minute of the celebrations and let the game unfold as it may. Let’s go Knicks!
Game Details
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (0-0) at New York Knicks (0-0)
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Place: Madison Square Garden, NYC
TV: NBC
Follow:@ptknicksblog
Injury Report
Backup center Adem Bona missed the preseason for Philly with a foot sprain but practiced again on Sunday unlike Domenick Barlow (back) and Dean Wade. Wade is a game time decision due to a bum ankle sustained in the preseason finale. Josh Hart is dealing with his own ankle injury for the Knicks but figures to be available.
