August 13, 2026
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
LeBron James' first season in Philadelphia is nearly two months away.
The full slate for the most anticipated Sixers season in recent history has been officially revealed.
The NBA announced its full schedule on Thursday, with 80 games for each team. Two more games will be scheduled for each team following the completion of NBA Cup Group Play.
For the Sixers, there have arguably never been more eyes on the team both locally and nationally. Not only did the team trade for Jaylen Brown – teaming up the five-time All-Star with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe – but that move opened the door for their stunning signing of all-time leading scorer LeBron James, which arguably made the Sixers the most significant national attraction in the entire NBA instantly.
The full schedule can be found at the bottom of this story, but before that is a detailed breakdown of all of the nuances of the slate:
This may not be the most exciting part of a schedule to look at, but for the Sixers it will continue to be the most important.
Embiid has not played in both legs of a back-to-back since January of 2024. Even as the team expresses optimism about his current condition, it is hard to imagine – particularly given how much talent now exists on this roster – that Embiid will be overburdened. And James has never had any sort of strict restriction like Embiid, but he will turn 42 years old around the midpoint of the season. He sat out halves of some back-to-backs last season and should continue to do so moving forward.
Last season, the Sixers had 16 back-to-backs, tied for the most in the entire NBA. This time around...
| Season | Back-to-backs |
| 2023-24 | 11 |
| 2024-25 | 15 |
| 2025-26 | 16 |
| 2026-27 | 13 |
This is certainly a helpful draw for the Sixers, as they play their fewest number of back-to-backs in three seasons.
No NBA team is allowed to be placed on national television more than 34 times. So, no surprise here:
| Season | National TV games |
| 2023-24 | 17 |
| 2024-25 | 21 |
| 2025-26 | 14 |
| 2026-27 | 34 |
The Sixers have long been enigmatic to the league's schedule-makers; when healthy they have always had plenty of high-caliber talent capable of putting on a show against any opponent but they have rarely been at full strength. But James remains appointment viewing, and as his career winds down he remains the biggest draw in the entire league. He has made the Sixers a national attraction in a way they never have been before.
The Sixers are in Eastern Conference Group B for this year's NBA Cup, and they have a tremendously difficult slate of opponents. They have tried and failed to advance beyond Group Play three years in a row, and will look to do so with this slate of games, which includes James' first appearance of the season in Cleveland:
| Date | Opponent |
| Oct. 30 | vs. New York Knicks |
| Nov. 6 | @ Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Nov. 25 | vs. Miami Heat |
| Nov. 27 | @ Indiana Pacers |
Each conference has three groups of five teams. Every team plays each of its group mates once. The winner of each group advances to the Knockout Rounds and the top wild card team does as well; tiebreakers for record are determined by point differential within Group Play games. Whichever team manages to win Eastern Conference Group B will have mustered a terrific sequence of performances in Group Play..
MORE: After 'crazy transition,' Jaylen Brown ready to win with Sixers
The Sixers have four games scheduled against each of their Atlantic Division rivals, as is the standard in the NBA, along with pairs of games against all Western Conference teams.
There is some variation between teams when it comes to the remaining games within the conference but outside of the division, some variation occurs.
Each team has four games scheduled against four of their in-conference, out-of-division opponents and three games scheduled against the other six of them. It is a minor scheduling quirk that most understandably neglect, but the hope is always for fewer games against tougher competition.
Here is the Sixers' draw this season:
| Three games | Four games |
| Atlanta Hawks (two home games) | Charlotte Hornets |
| Cleveland Cavaliers (two away games) | Chicago Bulls |
| Detroit Pistons (two home games) | Indiana Pacers |
| Milwaukee Bucks (two home games) | Miami Heat |
| Orlando Magic (two away games) | |
| Washington Wizards (two away games) |
This is a favorable draw for the Sixers, with an extra matchup locked in against two teams in Charlotte and Chicago which figure to be in the back half of the Eastern Conference and an home-court advantage in season series with Atlanta and Detroit.
SIXERS FILM STUDIES
Jaylen Brown's strengths | Jaylen Brown's weaknesses
Anfernee Simons | Dean Wade | Ariel Hukporti
And now, a batch of interesting points on the Sixers' 2025-26 calendar to finish things off:
• As was previously announced, Sixers will open the season on Oct. 20 at Madison Square Garden, they will watch the New York Knicks hang a banner before trying to set a strong tone for the season.
• Sixers fans' first chance to see James and Brown play in Philadelphia will be on Oct. 22 when the Sixers hold their home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• James' returns to Cleveland are always appointment viewing. This season, the Sixers face the Cavaliers on the road on Nov. 6 (NBA Cup Group Play) and March 1.
• Checking in on an old friend: Kelly Oubre Jr. will first return to Philadelphia with the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 15.
• Every year, fans of all NBA teams hope to see Embiid and Nikola Jokić do battle. This year, the Sixers host the Nuggets on Dec. 2 and visit them on March 28.
• On Dec. 25, the Sixers will face the Lakers in James' return to Los Angeles as part of the league's five-game Christmas Day slate.
• Predictably, the Sixers are part of the NBA's slate of games for Martin Luther King Jr. Day; they will visit the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 18.
• Brown will make his return to Boston on Jan. 21.
• The NBA is introducing a quadrupleheader for Presidents' Day on Feb. 15, which includes a Sixers road game against the Dallas Mavericks.
• Luka Dončic and the Lakers will be in town on March 4. Not only will it be another rematch for James against his former team, but it will be a return for old friend Quentin Grimes.
• Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors will make their annual trip to Philadelphia on March 31.
MORE: Building lineups Sixers head coach Nick Nurse can lean on in 2026-27
• It is abundantly clear that Brown will be circling the Sixers' four games against the Celtics on his calendar. Perhaps Paul George will be doing the same. Here they are:
| Date | Location |
| Nov. 10 | Philadelphia |
| Jan. 21 | Boston |
| Feb. 7 | Philadelphia |
| March 7 | Boston |
• Every matchup between the Sixers and Knicks will serve as a measuring stick for both teams. The Sixers' full slate of matchups against the defending champions:
| Date | Location |
| Oct. 20 | New York |
| Oct. 30 | Philadelphia (NBA Cup Group Play) |
| Feb. 11 | Philadelphia |
| Feb. 27 | New York |
• Should the Sixers realize their potential, two of these four games could very well be NBA Finals previews:
| Date | Road team | Home team |
| Jan. 6 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Sixers |
| Feb. 13 | Sixers | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| March 11 | Sixers | San Antonio Spurs |
| March 21 | San Antonio Spurs | Sixers |
• The Sixers' Christmas Day battle against the Lakers means their annual "Disney On Ice" trip to the West Coast will get underway a few days earlier than usual. That full road swing includes a pit stop on the way back, and it looks like this:
| Date | Opponent |
| Dec. 25 | @ Los Angeles Lakers |
| Dec. 27 | @ Los Angeles Clippers |
| Dec. 29 | @ Sacramento Kings |
| Dec. 30 | @ Phoenix Suns |
| Jan. 1 | @ Milwaukee Bucks |
• One of the teams James spurned by joining the Sixers: the Miami Heat. Pat Riley could not convince James to return, but he landed Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks. The Sixers' games against Miami:
| Date | Location |
| Nov. 25 | Philadelphia (NBA Cup Group Play) |
| Jan. 8 | Philadelphia |
| Jan. 30 | Miami |
| April 8 | Miami |
SIXERS SIGN LEBRON JAMES
James' decision | Projecting Sixers' rotation | James' impact, on and off the court
Here is the Sixers' complete schedule for the 2026-27 regular season:
NEWS: The Sixers have a 2026-27 regular-season schedule! Story with details and analysis to come: pic.twitter.com/0mLhIp5oyG
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) August 13, 2026
