Members of the New York Knicks accepts the best team award at the ESPY Awards in the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

2026-08-12T15:56:05Z

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks are going to open both of their title defenses against LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Knicks will travel to Philadelphia to face the 76ers on Oct. 30 on the opening night of NBA Cup games, the league announced Wednesday.

The teams are already scheduled to meet in the Oct. 20 season opener at Madison Square Garden, when the Knicks will get their NBA championship rings before James plays his first game since signing with the 76ers last month.

This is the fourth season of the NBA Cup, the league’s in-season tournament. Games in the group stage will be played Oct. 30, Nov. 6, Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Nov. 24, Nov. 25 and Nov. 27, when the Knicks will host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat.

The Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs in the title game last year, then became the first NBA Cup champions to refuse to hang a banner to acknowledge the achievement. They will hang the banner they really wanted — their first since 1973 — on opening night after beating the Spurs again for the NBA championship in June.

The Knicks-76ers matchup in East Group B will open a Prime Video doubleheader, followed by the Lakers at Golden State in West Group C.

Quarterfinal play will be Dec. 4 and 5, with the semifinals on Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9, all at team sites. The championship game will be Dec. 11 at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the first time it has been staged outside Las Vegas.

The league will release the entire 2026-27 schedule on Thursday at 3 p.m. EDT. It revealed the schedule for opening night and Christmas on Tuesday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

BRIAN MAHONEY





Mahoney is an editor on the AP Sports desk. He also is a pro basketball writer, primarily covering the two NBA teams in New York.















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