There is not an enormous amount of variation in NBA schedules from team to team. Each team plays most of its conference cohorts four times a year and a few of them three times, with two games against teams in the opposite conference. Everyone, of course, will end up playing 82 games in the regular season.
The NBA announced its full schedule on Thursday, and for now, each team has 80 games on its slate. They will all have an additional pair of games scheduled following the completion of NBA Cup Group Play; the dates and opponents depend on which teams qualify for the Knockout Rounds.
Now that the schedule is out, it is time to analyze it. Where do NBA schedules vary from team to team, what is meaningful about the Sixers' schedule, and lastly, what is interesting about the Sixers' schedule?
You can see the full 2025-26 Sixers schedule by clicking here, or on the link at the bottom of this story.
Back-to-backs
For any team that employs Joel Embiid, the absolute most important component of a schedule is how many back-to-backs exist on it. Embiid said before the start of last season that he never expects to play in both legs of any back-to-back again. He only played in 19 games last year, never suiting up on two nights in a row.
The idea of Embiid logging any complete back-to-backs remains hard to fathom at this point, both in terms of the lack of advisability of Embiid doing it and in terms of his physical ability to do it. The number of back-to-backs on the schedule should set the most basic floor for Embiid's missed games. This year, the Sixers have 14 back-to-backs. How does it compare to prior seasons?
Season Back-to-backs
2023-24 11
2024-25 15
2025-26 16
Definitely do not make any wagers that Embiid will play over 66.5 games in 2025-26.
National TV games
The NBA has a new national television deal kicking in this year; TNT is out and NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime are in. The number of nationally-televised games across the league is increasing significantly, so the average team is going to see a noticeable uptick in games being played on the league's highest-profile television partners.
Then there are the Sixers, whose nightmarish 2024-25 season, riddled with injuries and absences, clearly scarred the NBA. In addition to not being on any of the league's biggest dates (Christmas Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, etc.), the Sixers are only playing XX nationally-televised games. Despite a major increase in marquee games, the Sixers have seen their number go down:
Season National TV games
2023-24 17
2024-25 21
2025-26 14
For the schedule-makers in the league office, it is an enormous challenge to figure out how often to put a team like the Sixers in the spotlight. In theory, the upside is enormous: a star-studded roster for a team in a major market with a passionate fanbase. It feels risky to leave opportunities on the table when it comes to featuring a team like that. But the downside is so brutal -- a desolate rotation destroyed by injuries and load management, a checked-out fan base and low stakes -- that the league has clearly decided that caution is required.
NBA Cup Group Play
As announced on Wednesday, the Sixers' NBA Cup Group Play schedule is as follows:
• Oct. 31 vs. Boston Celtics (Amazon Prime)
• Nov. 14 @ Detroit Pistons
• Nov. 25 vs. Orlando Magic (NBC)
• Nov. 28 @ Brooklyn Nets
Each conference has three groups of five teams. Every team plays each of its group mates once. The winner of each group advances to the Knockout Rounds and the top wild card team does as well; tiebreakers for record are determined by point differential within Group Play games.
Eastern Conference schedule
The Sixers have four games scheduled against each of their Atlantic Division rivals, as is the standard in the NBA. They have their aforementioned pairs of games against all Western Conference teams. But of the remaining games within the conference but outside of the division, some variation occurs.
Each team has four games scheduled against four of their in-conference, out-of-division opponents and three games scheduled against the other six of them. It is a minor scheduling quirk that most understandably neglect, but the hope is always for fewer games against tougher competition.
Here is the Sixers' draw this season:
Play three times Play four times
Atlanta Hawks Cleveland Cavaliers
Charlotte Hornets Detroit Pistons
Chicago Bulls Milwaukee Bucks
Indiana Pacers Washington Wizards
Miami Heat
Orlando Magic
A good draw or bad draw will not make or break any team's season by any means, but this is an unfortunate one for the Sixers, as the foursome of teams they will host and visit twice each includes the favorite to win the conference and two other playoff-caliber teams.
Other noteworthy dates
And now, a batch of interesting points on the Sixers' 2025-26 calendar to finish things off:
• The Sixers will open their season in Boston against the Celtics on Oct. 22, and their home opener will be on Oct. 25 against the Charlotte Hornets.
• Tobias Harris and Paul Reed will lead the Detroit Pistons into Philadelphia on Nov. 9 and April 4. The Pistons only played in Philadelphia once last year, an early-season drubbing.
• One of the most exciting home games of the season is when Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors come to Philadelphia, as thousands of fans pack the stands early to watch Curry's famous pregame shooting routine. Mark your calendars for Dec. 4 to see Curry and old friend Jimmy Butler in action.
• When the Los Angeles Lakers visit Philadelphia on Dec. 7, it will not just be the first time Luka Dončić is in town wearing purple and gold. It could also very well be the last time LeBron James suits up in Philadelphia.
• The Sixers' two games against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder: Dec. 28 in Oklahoma City and March 23 in Philadelphia.
• The entire basketball world always wonders whether or not Embiid and Nikola Jokić will face off. Will they match up in 2025-26 after not doing so last season? The Sixers are set to face the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 5 in Philadelphia and March 17 in Denver.
• Sixers No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe is set to do battle against top pick Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks for the first time on Jan. 20 in Philadelphia. The last time the Mavericks were in Philadelphia, they had just made an earth-shattering trade.
• The Sixers' first time playing host to old friend Guerschon Yabusele and the New York Knicks will be in an ABC game on Jan. 24.
• Paul George's second trip to the Intuit Dome to face his former team will come on Feb. 2, when the Sixers battle against James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers.
• Both times San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama has come to Philadelphia, the Sixers have outlasted the Spurs in an intense, memorable battle. Wembanyama's third career road game against the Sixers will double as a battle between Edgecombe and No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper. It will take place on March 3.
• The two most scrutinized prospects when it came to the Sixers' decision with the No. 3 overall pick last June were Edgecombe and Ace Bailey, the controversial Rutgers star who landed with the Utah Jazz at No. 5 overall. Bailey and Edgecombe will face off for the first time on March 4 in Philadelphia. Bailey may not receive the kindest ovation.
MORE: Full Sixers schedule
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