The Knicks won’t have to wait long to find out what the new-look 76ers are about.
Philadelphia shows up twice in New York’s first six games of the 2026-27 season, starting with Ring Night at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20 and then again less than two weeks later at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Oct. 30. For a Knicks team trying to defend a title, that’s a pretty clean early measuring stick.
And this won’t be the same Philly group New York has spent the last few seasons handling. The 76ers reshaped their roster this summer, landing LeBron James and Jaylen Brown in the offseason and making a series of other moves that change the feel of the matchup entirely. They drafted Labaron Philon Jr. out of Alabama in the first round of the 2026 Draft, signed Caleb Love and Anfernee Simons, and essentially swapped Andre Drummond and Ariel Hukporti with the Knicks.
The biggest swing came with Paul George going to the Celtics for Brown, then James signing on. That’s a very different Sixers look, especially in the starting five, which is why New York’s recent success against Philadelphia doesn’t mean much going forward.
Still, the Knicks have a chance to draw a line early.
Last season, the teams didn’t meet until mid-December. New York dropped the first two matchups on Dec. 19 and Jan. 3, both coming in the two weeks after the Knicks’ NBA Cup Final win over the Spurs. The Knicks then edged Philly on Jan. 24 before finishing the season series with a blowout in “The Jose Alvarado Game.”
The numbers tell the same story in two parts. Through the first three games against the 76ers, the Knicks were at a 116.2 offensive rating, 121.6 defensive rating, and -5.4 net rating, according to PivotFade. In the final five meetings, including the four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, they flipped the script completely, going 5-0 with a 132.6 ORTG, 103.1 DRTG, and +29.5 NETRTG.
For the full season, New York outscored Philadelphia by 16.3 points per 100 possessions, with a 126.4 ORTG and 110.1 DRTG. But that past dominance comes with a giant asterisk now that the roster has been blown up.
The Knicks also know what James and Brown can do in this matchup from recent seasons, even if those samples came in different uniforms. New York played the Lakers twice last year, and James appeared in only one of those games: a 112-100 Knicks win at Madison Square Garden on Feb.
- He scored 22 points on 62.4% TS% and added six assists, but finished minus-17.
CourtSketch had the Lakers at a 109.4 ORTG, 138.1 DRTG, and -28.7 NETRTG in the 35 minutes he was on the floor.
Brown faced the Knicks in three of Boston’s four meetings with New York, sitting out the final game on April 9, a 112-106 Knicks win. He still averaged 30.3 points on 61.1% TS% in the three games he played, and the Celtics were outscored by 13 points in his minutes. CourtSketch put Boston at a 118 ORTG, 124.9 DRTG, and -6.9 NETRTG in the 109 minutes Brown was on the floor against the Knicks during the 2025-26 season.
There was also the February reminder of how New York can tilt a game when Mike Brown gets creative. In the Feb. 8 matchup with Boston, Brown famously turned to Mo Diawara on Jaylen Brown for several possessions, and Diawara finished plus-22, earning Defensive Player of the Game honors. NBA tracking data showed the Celtics scored just six points in the 12.6 partial possessions Diawara spent guarding Brown, which worked out to a 47.6 DRTG in that stretch.
Joel Embiid had his moments against New York in the regular season, averaging 32 points on 68.7% TS% across two January games. The Sixers posted a 121.9 ORTG, 117 DRTG, and +4.9 NETRTG with him on the floor in those matchups.
But the playoffs told a much harsher story. Embiid’s lower-half issues and mobility turned him into a major problem for Philadelphia in three active games against the Knicks.
He averaged 18.7 points on 61.3% TS%, with most of that production coming in his perfect shooting night during Game 4 of New York’s blowout win in Philly that sent the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals. Across those three playoff games, the Sixers had a 111.2 ORTG, 146.4 DRTG, and -35.3 NETRTG with Embiid on the court, per PivotFade.
None of those old lineups will be waiting for New York in those first two meetings, and that’s exactly what makes the opening stretch interesting. The Sixers will arrive with fresh faces and a chip on their shoulder, eager to get even.
The Knicks, though, have built a habit of meeting big moments head-on. They did it in the NBA Cup Final, on Christmas Day against the Cavs, and throughout their championship run last season. That’s the standard now.
Two early wins over a rebuilt Philly team would mean plenty for New York’s title defense, especially if the second one comes in Philadelphia. But the first chance to set the tone lands on Ring Night, under the bright lights at the Garden.
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