The Philadelphia Sixers' 2026-27 regular-season schedule is out, and there are a few noticeable differences from last season's slate. They'll play 34 (up from 14) nationally televised games (the maximum a team can play), will play 13 back-to-backs (down from 16), and have the fewest number of three games in four nights stretches (11) of any team in the league. You can call that the LeBron James effect.
He'll turn 42 on Dec. 30 (he'll celebrate it in Phoenix on a West Coast road trip), and the league did him and the Sixers a favor by reducing their workload. An 82-game season is long as is, but when you factor in the back-to-backs, it's a lot on the body, even more so when you play three games in four nights.
Philadelphia will have more time to catch its breath than it did last season, and considering that the Sixers hope their season will extend into June, it could pay off.
Sixers have a more favorable schedule
While LeBron was still weighing his decision, Adam Silver admitted the NBA was waiting for him to finish the schedule. For the Sixers, the wait was worth it, and even more so after seeing how the league structured the team's schedule.
Their first back-to-back will be in the first week of the regular season, with both games in Philadelphia: Oct. 24 against Milwaukee and Oct. 25 versus Detroit, which will also wrap up their first time playing three games in four nights. It helps that one of those teams in their back-to-back is much better than the other, though that doesn't mean the Sixers should overlook the first half of that one.
Philadelphia's first back-to-back with travel starts Oct. 30, when they'll host the Knicks, then travel to Charlotte to play the Hornets on Halloween. That will be far more challenging, but after that, their next back-to-back won't happen until mid-November.
James is entering his 24th season (and he's ready to go!), longer than anyone else in league history (Vince Carter played 22 seasons), so any rest advantage Philadelphia gets will pay off especially for him. Of course, Joel Embiid will greatly benefit, too, as he played a combined 96 games over the past three seasons.
Philadelphia knew that once James committed to signing with the team on July 24, it would be better off. That would still be the case had the Sixers' workload not lessened, but since it did, everyone has yet another reason to be thankful for LeBron. Add it to what's probably already a long list that will keep growing once the season finally starts.
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