At last, the NBA announced the Philadelphia 76ers' schedule for the 2026-2027 season. After dropping crumbs with key dates all week, the league avoided giving Jaylen Brown the key dates to circle for when the Sixers face the Boston Celtics. Now, he has his answer.
The Sixers and the Celtics will battle it out for the first time this season on Tuesday, November 10, 2026. The game will take place in Philadelphia and will be televised nationally on NBC.
Get ready for the Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum rivalry
Both of these guys are going to downplay it, but you can't fool hoops fans who have been reading the tea leaves. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are entering the rivalry phase of their careers after playing as co-stars for the past nine years.
Look, they've had a lot of success together. It's something that the Celtics should cherish, and it was a memorable run for them both. For three seasons in a row, the Celtics went to the Eastern Conference Finals in the early 2020s. They won twice and finished as NBA Champions in 2024.
But over the past two years, the Celtics have turned in dominant regular-season runs before flaming out in the postseason. The 2025 playoff run ended in round two with a 4-2 loss against the New York Knicks. In 2026, the Celtics infamously crumbled to the 76ers, who came back from a 1-3 deficit and won Game 7. NBA rumors suggested that nothing would be the same for Tatum, who tore an Achilles in 2025, and Brown, who thrived in the star forward's absence for most of the 2025-2026 season.
The two stars would continue to push that narrative to the side, but the Celtics clearly saw something they didn't like about what was brewing in Boston. The Sixers ended up being the team to take Brown out of there. The star forward didn't force his way out. He was blindsided by a trade to a division rival. Now, he gets to face them at least four times this upcoming season.
While Brown made it clear that he wishes the best for his former co-star whenever he's not facing the Sixers, the two words he spoke after are what really stand out. When asked if he had spoken to Tatum since the trade, Brown responded, "Not really," during his introductory press conference.
When Al Horford left the Celtics for the Sixers in 2019, he inherited the Philly-Boston rivalry. However, everybody knew it didn't feel strong. This right here is different. Brown was angry when he got the news. He felt slighted by his former organization. The fact that Tatum didn't have much to say to his former teammate just adds another strong layer to the rivalry that could create fireworks in November.
Beyond that, Brown makes his first return to Boston on Thursday, January 21. The final two games between the Sixers and the Celtics are set for February 7 in Philly, and March 7 in Boston.
Add us as a preferred source on Google