It’s opening night of the 2026–27 season, and the reigning champion New York Knicks already have reason to celebrate: their 8 AM injury report is completely clean heading into tonight’s opener against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Meanwhile, the Sixers have six players on the injury report, including key offseason acquisitions Anfernee Simons (hamstring) and Dean Wade (ankle sprain).
PHI@NYK Injury Report:
Philadelphia 76ers:
Dominick Barlow: Out (Injury/Illness – Low Back Stress Reaction)Adem Bona: Questionable (Injury/Illness – Left Foot Sprain)
Tacko Fall: Out (Injury/Illness – Left Quadriceps Strain)
Ariel Hukporti: Out (Injury/Illness – Right Achilles Tendon Rupture / Tear)
Anfernee Simons: Questionable (Injury/Illness – Left Hamstring Tightness / Soreness)
Dean Wade: Questionable (Injury/Illness – Left Ankle Sprain)
Knicks:
None
Knicks vs Sixers Opening Night
The Knicks are expected to start their championship unit of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns. Off the bench, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado, Andre Drummond and Jordan Clarkson should see the bulk of the second-unit minutes, while James Wiseman — who earned a roster spot with a strong preseason — could also get rotational minutes behind Towns and Drummond. Knicks head coach Mike Brown is also expected to trust third-year guard Tyler Kolek a little more after playing him 11.7 minutes last season.
While some analysts expect the Knicks to struggle with championship hangover, Jalen Brunson and Co. are as focused as ever to repeat.
“Yeah, there’s no relaxation whatsoever,” Brunson said Monday, via NY Daily News.
“None.”
“I would say most of, if not all of us have turned the page already,” Brunson added.
Knicks Ready to Defend Title
Knicks head coach Mike Brown echoed his team captain’s sentiments.
“I mean, it’s hard because they’re human and there’s a part of you that wants to keep celebrating, but, you know, you got to turn it off,” Brown said.
“So the challenge is trying to get them to enjoy the moment, but not fully, I guess.”
Landry Shamet, who played a pivotal role off the bench when the Knicks went 16-3 in the playoffs, sent a warning shot to 29 other teams.
“Obviously, you look at it on paper, it’s, you know, that’s a hell of a group,” Shamet said.
“… I think a lot of our focus has got to be on that, and the ring and the celebration has kind of got to be secondary, you know, because our job is our job.”
“We all have that same tone of, you know, there’s no coasting, there’s no contentment, there’s no any of that,” he stressed.
“We’re out pursuing the next thing.”
Knicks vs Sixers tips off at 7 p.m. ET tonight.
Knicks Get Great News Hours Before Season Opener vs Sixers