Jaylen Brown’s Boston return, LeBron James’ tour, and more Sixers schedule observations
The Sixers are viewed as preseason championship contenders after adding LeBron James and Brown, who will make his return to Boston on Jan. 21.
The NBA released the rest of the 76ers’ regular-season schedule Thursday afternoon, rounding out a much-anticipated slate after the team added stars LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to become preseason championship contenders.
Several marquee games were announced earlier this week, including the Sixers’ season opener (Oct. 20 at New York Knicks) and home opener (Oct. 22 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers); their holiday matchups on Christmas (at Los Angeles Lakers), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 18 at Atlanta Hawks), and Presidents Day (Feb. 15 at Dallas Mavericks); and their NBA Cup group play matchups (Oct. 30 vs. New York, Nov. 6 at Cleveland, Nov. 25 vs. Miami Heat, and Nov. 27 at Indiana Pacers).
Here are the highlights from the remaining slate:
» READ MORE: Sixers will open NBA Cup play against Knicks, face Hawks on MLK Day as NBA schedule release continues
Jaylen Brown’s Boston return
The primary mystery still lingering entering Thursday was when All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown would make his return to Boston. That day will finally arrive Jan. 21 — unless one counts the Sixers’ preseason visit to TD Garden during which Brown, like many stars in those exhibitions, may not suit up.
Brown played his first 10 NBA seasons with the Celtics, developing into a five-time All-Star, 2024 NBA champion, and Finals MVP before being shockingly traded to the Sixers last month.
The Sixers will also play in Boston on March 7, a 1 p.m. game televised by ABC. The first Sixers-Celtics meeting will be Nov. 10 at Xfinity Mobile Arena, marking Paul George’s return to Philly after he was moved to Boston in that blockbuster deal. That November game also will be the first with stakes since their wild first-round playoff series, when the Sixers rallied from down three-games-to-one to win Game 7.
Hello again, LeBron
The NBA had already placed James’ first game against the Lakers, for whom he had played the previous eight seasons, as a premier Christmas Day matchup. The all-time great also will return to Cleveland on Nov. 6 and March 1, and to Miami on Jan. 30 and April 8.
James won NBA titles and MVP awards with the Cavaliers and Heat, and was considering both teams during his elongated free agency. Instead, James chose to sign a two-year contract with the Sixers in what he called his final playing-destination decision.
One additional LeBron-related travel anecdote: The Sixers’ game at the Memphis Grizzlies is Feb. 3, after James said he is not the biggest fan of the hotel accommodations in that particular city. It is a single-game trip.
Heading West
Unsurprisingly, the Sixers’ two longest road trips of the season are primarily to the Western Conference.
That Lakers showdown on Christmas begins a five-game trip, which continues against the Los Angeles Clippers (Dec. 27), Sacramento Kings (Dec. 29), Phoenix Suns (Dec. 30), and Milwaukee Bucks (Jan. 1).
» READ MORE: Sixers open season Oct. 20 at Knicks, face Cavaliers in Philly home debut for LeBron James, Jaylen Brown
The Sixers also will head West four games in late March against the Utah Jazz (March 23), Golden State Warriors (March 24), Portland Trail Blazers (March 26), and Denver Nuggets (March 28). That finale in Denver is of note, considering former MVP Joel Embiid has not played in that city — and against former MVP-caliber center rival Nikola Jokic — since 2019.
Beyond those jaunts, the Sixers’ longest road trip of the season is three games coming out of the All-Star break in February. And two of those are against the New York teams (at Brooklyn Nets Feb. 25, at Knicks Feb. 27) and won’t require travel in between.
Noteworthy visits
Here is when several big names and former Sixers will visit Philly (barring health):
Oct. 25 and Feb. 5: Cade Cunningham (and Paul Reed and Isaiah Joe) with the Detroit Pistons
Nov. 12 and March 15: Kawhi Leonard (presumably) with the Toronto Raptors
Nov. 15 and Jan. 19: Kelly Oubre Jr. with the Indiana Pacers
Dec. 2: Jokic with the Nuggets
Dec. 23: Kevin Durant with the Houston Rockets
Jan. 6: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (and Jared McCain) with the Oklahoma City Thunder
March 4: Luka Doncic (and Quentin Grimes) with the Lakers
March 21: Victor Wembanyama (and Tobias Harris) with the San Antonio Spurs
March 24: Stephen Curry (and, potentially, Jimmy Butler) with the Warriors
Other nuggets
The Sixers have 34 nationally televised games, a franchise record and the maximum allowed for a single team. That further embodies the immense attention on a star-studded roster. Ten of those are on Amazon Prime Video, while eight apiece are on ESPN and NBC/Peacock, five are on ABC, and three are on Peacock/NBC Sports Network.
The Sixers will play 13 back-to-backs, down from 16 last season. Managing those will be crucial to maintaining the health of James and Embiid, who previously said on the record that he may never play in both games of such a set again. The Sixers’ strangest back-to-back: Indiana to Houston over Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 27 and 28).
Nine of the Sixers’ 16 January games will be at home, the most in a month during the season. Matchups against the Washington Wizards (Jan. 12), Nets (Jan. 14), Clippers (Jan. 25), and Sacramento Kings (Jan. 27) — who are all expected to finish near the bottom of the standings — are part of that stretch.
Their final four games — vs. Atlanta, at Toronto, at Miami, vs. Charlotte — could go a long way in determining postseason seeding and exemplifies the newfound depth of the Eastern Conference.
