The Defending Champion Knicks Are Waiting: Philly’s Most Anticipated Season Just Kicked Off in NYC

It’s finally here, man! The Sixers are kicking off what feels like their MOST anticipated regular season in forever, and they’re doing it right in the lion’s den. They’re heading up to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks for the season opener. This isn’t just any game, either. The Knicks? They’re the defending champions, straight up.

Madison Square Garden Is Ready For This Showdown

Forget easing into it, Philly’s jumping right into the fire by hitting up Madison Square Garden on a Monday. This season opener is set for October 20th, with tip-off at 7 p.m. ET. If you can’t be there, you can catch all the action on NBC, or tune into 97.5 The Fanatic for the radio call. And for real-time updates and chatter, make sure you’re following @LibertyBallers. This is the start of something big for the Sixers, facing the champs in their own house. Talk about a statement game right out of the gate!

Preseason Action Set The Stage

We’ve been waiting for this moment after a pretty busy preseason. The team wrapped things up with a final matchup against the Boston Celtics, where most of the Sixers’ stars were expected to play, with VJ Edgecombe being the exception. Before that, the preseason opener was against these very Knicks, which was a huge deal because it marked Jaylen Brown’s first time in action as a Sixer against New York. To be fair, LeBron James, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey didn’t suit up for that preseason opener, but it was still good to see the squad getting some run in. They also hit the road to play the Nets in Brooklyn and had another preseason game against the Celtics. Heading into the regular season, Dominick Barlow is unfortunately out with a back injury and will be reevaluated in two weeks. That’s a tough break right at the start.

This is it, the real deal. After all the talk and anticipation, the Sixers are finally on the court for the 2026-27 season against the defending champs. What an opening night to get things rolling!

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Originally reported by Liberty Ballers.