Josh Hart did not need a schedule leak to imagine how the NBA would begin the New York Knicks’ championship defense.
The Knicks will receive their championship rings and raise their first banner since 1973 before hosting LeBron James and the revamped Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20. ESPN’s Shams Charania revealed the marquee matchup Tuesday as part of the league’s Opening Night schedule.
Hart responded with his signature dry humor.
“Can’t lie. I’m extremely shocked this is the slate,” Hart wrote on X.
The sarcasm was difficult to miss. Pairing the defending champions with James’ new superteam was the most predictable — and perhaps most irresistible — option available to the NBA.
Knicks’ Celebration Comes With Immediate Test
The evening will begin with the celebration New York waited 53 years to experience. Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Hart and their teammates will receive their rings before the Knicks’ latest championship banner rises to the Madison Square Garden rafters.
Then the mood will change.
James is set to make his official 76ers debut after leaving the Los Angeles Lakers and signing with Philadelphia. He will be joined by fellow newcomer Jaylen Brown, giving the 76ers a decorated starting group alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
The matchup carries another layer of irony. During James’ free agency, agent Rich Paul said the Knicks would have been his client’s preferred destination if they had not won the championship.
“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.”
Winning the title effectively removed New York from James’ preferred path. He instead joined Philadelphia, a franchise still chasing its first championship since 1983. His first official game as a 76er will now begin with him watching the Knicks celebrate the achievement that altered his decision.
Opening Night Revives Playoff Rivalries
Philadelphia will not arrive merely as the host team’s glamorous opponent. The game carries recent postseason history.
New York swept Philadelphia in the 2026 Eastern Conference semifinals before defeating Cleveland and San Antonio to win the championship. The Sixers responded to that elimination by assembling arguably the NBA’s most star-laden roster.
The Knicks-76ers game will tip off at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. The nightcap features Victor Wembanyama and the Western Conference champion Spurs hosting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder at 9:30 p.m.
That matchup is a rematch of last season’s seven-game Western Conference finals. The full opening slate begins earlier with the Boston Celtics visiting the Detroit Pistons.
For the Knicks, Philadelphia’s presence prevents Ring Night from becoming a prolonged victory lap. They will have to shift quickly from nostalgia to the demanding work of defending a championship.
Hart knows how such ceremonies can sharpen the home team. The Knicks visited Boston when the Celtics raised their 2024 championship banner, then absorbed a lopsided defeat.
Two years later, the rings, banner and home court belong to New York.
Hart may not have been surprised by the matchup, but the league was not trying to fool anyone. It found the cleanest possible storyline: The championship that kept James from joining the Knicks will be celebrated directly in front of him before he begins his attempt to take it away from them.
Josh Hart Sends Telling Message on Knicks’ Ring Night Opponent