Nine Days to Camp, Four Preseason Games Before It Counts

By the 76ers Nightly Desk · Saturday, September 26

The last 36 hours produced no trades, signings or reports out of Philadelphia. What's clear instead is the calendar: four preseason games, an Oct. 20 opener, and a payroll number that isn't going anywhere.

76ers Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

When do the Sixers play again?

Preseason opens Oct. 5 against the Knicks, then road trips to the Nets on Oct. 8 and the Celtics on Oct. 10, with a rematch against Boston back home Oct. 16. The games that count start Oct. 20 at the Knicks, a national window on NBC and Peacock. That's four tuneups before the record clock starts at 0-0.

Who's banged up heading into camp?

Adem Bona is day-to-day with a foot and leg issue, targeting an Oct. 1 return. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is day-to-day too, a finger injury on his right hand, also pointed at Oct. 1. Both timelines put them back roughly two weeks before the opener, which is the best case for a camp that hasn't opened yet.

Where can fans actually see this team before the opener?

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the team is moving its annual Blue X White scrimmage from the Blue Coats' facility in Wilmington to Xfinity Mobile Arena, citing demand the old site couldn't handle. Admission is a $10 donation to the Sixers Youth Foundation. It's the first public look at Brown, James and Embiid sharing a court.

What number should Sixers fans actually worry about?

$213.2 million, the total payroll across 18 contracts, already over the first apron with the second apron still ahead. Embiid ($58.1M), Brown ($57.1M) and Maxey ($40.8M) account for most of it. That number is fixed before a single preseason game tips off, and it's the ceiling interim president Bob Myers has to work under all year.

What's still unresolved?

Whether Nick Nurse can turn Embiid, Maxey, Brown and a 41-year-old LeBron James into a team that gets past the second round, something this era of Sixers basketball hasn't managed. Camp hasn't opened, so there's no practice tape and no injury report beyond Bona and Caldwell-Pope to judge any of it by yet.

The verdictNothing about this roster changed today: it's expensive, built on past champions, and still nine days from tipoff. The schedule and the health report are the only things that moved.

When do the 76ers play their first preseason game?

Oct. 5 at home against the Knicks.

When does the 76ers regular season start?

Oct. 20 at the Knicks, airing on NBC and Peacock.