Seven games to watch on the Sixers’ 2025-26 schedule

The 76ers are entering a crucial season that could define their short- and long-term future. For a second straight year, the star trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey will be expected to deliver major results for a franchise that has waited decades to make it back to the Eastern Conference finals.

That process starts with Thursday’s 2025-26 schedule reveal. On Tuesday, we learned that the Sixers were shut out of the league’s marquee games, including opening week on national TV, Christmas Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Sixers’ NBA Cup schedule — highlighted by an Oct. 31 national TV game against the Boston Celtics — was later revealed.

Today, we’ll comb through the remainder of the schedule and point out seven games to watch.

The Sixers start out the year a bit light, with an opening-night meeting with the weakened Boston Celtics — and a tough matchup against the Orlando Magic — followed by games against the Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets, and Chicago Bulls. If Embiid and George are healthy, the Sixers’ biggest early test will come against the host Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 5. They were the East’s best team last year before falling apart against the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs.

This meeting at home will be the Sixers’ third game in three weeks against the Celtics, who are in the midst of their own health problems. The franchise started a mini-rebuild in response to Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury, shedding major salaries and holding on to only a few major pieces, including Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White. That said, these games represent a shot for the Sixers to rack up some early wins against a hated division foe. After this game, the teams won’t meet again until March 1.

The Sixers’ season typically features an absolute gauntlet on the back end after the All-Star break. This year that stretch comes right before the NBA’s midpoint, starting with a home game against the Warriors. From there the Sixers will face the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks (twice), Dallas Mavericks (twice), Oklahoma City Thunder, and Denver Nuggets all in a span of weeks.

» READ MORE: Sixers will open season at Boston; early home cooking highlights the 2025-26 schedule release

Though the NBA and television execs have soured on the Sixers to some extent, there is still interest in maintaining their burgeoning rivalry with a Knicks team that has its own Philly flair. The Sixers will host the Knicks in an ABC game on Jan. 24. The ’Nova Knicks won in Philly, taking home two national titles for the Wildcats, and they continue to do so in New York. With Mikal Bridges re-signed and Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart locked into long-term deals, this team is here to stay. The Sixers should be fully formed and ready to compete in this game.

After a down 2024-25 season, this matchup in Los Angeles presents George with a chance to show the Clippers what they missed out on. The Clippers have to be comfortable at the moment with their decision to pass up on George and ride with James Harden, who excelled in his hometown last year. If George, himself a native of the Los Angeles area, isn’t fully prepared for this West Coast swing with games against the Clippers, Warriors, and Lakers, he probably won’t ever be ready in a Sixers jersey.

Sixers fans had the pleasure of watching Tobias Harris play well for the Pistons last year. He even had moments against the Knicks before his team lost in the first round of the postseason. That little tinge of regret even set in for some folks who came to appreciate Harris, who was always available despite his warts. If George recovers from the worst season of his career, those thoughts will be erased by the time this game in Detroit rolls around.

If both teams have skin in the game, this will be one of the Sixers’ final tuneups before the postseason. Fans in Philly will no doubt hope this game in Houston is followed by a long playoff run. The new-look Rockets, led by Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, and Amen Thompson, would be a tough team to bump into with playoff hopes or seeding on the line.