Josh Hart did not appear surprised that the NBA chose the Philadelphia 76ers to interrupt the New York Knicks’ long-awaited championship celebration.
The 76ers will visit Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, when the Knicks receive their rings and raise their first championship banner since 1973. The nationally televised game will also mark LeBron James’ official Philadelphia debut.
After ESPN’s Shams Charania announced the Opening Night matchup Tuesday, Hart responded with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
“Can’t lie. I’m extremely shocked this is the slate,” the Knicks guard wrote on X.
The league’s reasoning was obvious. The defending champions will open against the Eastern Conference rival that assembled the NBA’s most closely watched roster during the offseason.
Philadelphia added James and Jaylen Brown to a core featuring Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. The result is a lineup built to challenge the Knicks immediately — and a fitting test for both teams before the championship confetti has fully settled.
James’ 76ers Debut Comes With Knicks Twist
James will begin his 24th NBA season watching the Knicks celebrate the championship that prevented him from joining them.
During James’ free agency, agent Rich Paul said New York would have been his client’s preferred destination if the Knicks had not ended their 53-year title drought.
“If the Knicks hadn’t won, there would be no board,” Paul said on the Game Over podcast. “He’d be going to the Knicks.”
James instead selected Philadelphia, a franchise still pursuing its first championship since 1983. The 76ers’ acquisition of Brown helped transform them into a legitimate option, providing James with another proven two-way wing alongside Embiid, Maxey and Edgecombe.
That decision created an opening-night storyline almost too neat for the NBA to resist. James will watch the Knicks’ latest banner rise, then begin his attempt to bring a similar celebration to Philadelphia.
The game will tip off at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
Sixers Get Immediate Shot at Playoff Revenge
The location also carries an uncomfortable recent memory for Philadelphia.
The Knicks swept the 76ers in the 2026 Eastern Conference semifinals before eliminating Cleveland and defeating San Antonio in the NBA Finals. Philadelphia responded by reshaping its roster around a collection of stars, accomplished veterans and players accustomed to carrying significant offensive responsibility.
Opening against New York will provide an immediate look at whether those pieces can coexist.
James, Brown, Embiid, Maxey and Edgecombe will all require touches. Their success will depend less on accumulating talent than on determining who initiates the offense, who closes games and who accepts a reduced role.
The Knicks already completed that process. Jalen Brunson remained their late-game anchor while Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Hart adjusted around him during the championship run.
The 76ers now begin their own experiment on the champions’ floor.
Opening Night continues at 9:30 p.m. with Victor Wembanyama and the Western Conference champion Spurs hosting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in a Western Conference finals rematch.
The brightest spotlight, however, will settle on Madison Square Garden.
Hart understood why. The NBA found its spectacle: the Knicks receiving their rings, James beginning a new chapter and Philadelphia getting its first opportunity to show that its star-studded makeover can threaten the reigning champions.
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