Sixers 2023-24 Schedule Breakdown
Some of this stuff matters. Most of it is just fun.
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
Today I will say a prayer in thanks for there being something I can write about other than James Harden and Daryl Morey.
The full 2023-24 NBA schedule has officially been released, and it is officially time to dive in. You can find the full schedule here. Some of this stuff matters and some of it is just interesting. Let’s dive into it all:
In-Season Tournament Group Play Schedule + Details
The Sixers’ schedule for Group Play in the NBA’s first-ever In-Season Tournament was released on Tuesday afternoon, a few weeks after the groups themselves were officially released.
The Sixers play one game against each of their four group mates during a 12-day period in November, in which Group Play takes place on a pair of Tuesdays and Fridays.
November 10: @ Detroit Pistons
November 14: vs. Indiana Pacers
November 17: @ Atlanta Hawks
November 21: vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Eight teams advance from Group Play into the single-elimination Knockout Rounds: six teams which lead their group, and one wild card team in each conference. The Sixers do not share a group with any certified elite teams, but they will face off against several tremendous young players in Group Play.
Eastern Conference Schedule
Each team plays the other four teams in their division four times each season (twice at home, twice on the road). They play the 15 teams in the opposing conference twice each (once at home, once on the road).
There is only one place where the schedule looks different for each team, and that is their schedule against teams who are in their conference but not in their division. 10 teams fit the bill: against six of them, a team will play them the standard four times, but against four of them, they will only face off three times.
Of course, teams hope to draw better teams as the four who they face one time fewer during the regular season. While this is a fairly minor matter in the grand scheme of things, it is one of the more consequential things one will find within the 82-game schedule.
The Sixers’ draw in 2023-24 is solid: they will face the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards three times each rather than four.
While the Wizards are a rebuilding team, they do have a few players who can get red hot and swing a game. Meanwhile, the Bulls are play-in candidates, the Hawks hope to surpass that threshold, and the Bucks are legitimate championship contenders.
Two of the team’s three games against Milwaukee and Atlanta will come on the road, while they will host Chicago and Washington twice.
Back-to-Backs
By my count, the Sixers will play 11 back-to-backs in 2023-24, three fewer than the 14 they played last season. The NBA has done a better job leveling the playing field here in recent years -- it is just about equal league-wide -- but it is always an important note for a team led by Joel Embiid.
National TV
The Sixers are scheduled to play 17 games on ABC, ESPN or TNT, after being scheduled for 23 nationally-televised games before the beginning of last season.
A reminder: around the start of winter, the NBA does occasionally begin flexing games in and out of national television spots based on the national interest in various teams, so this number is very much subject to change.
Noteworthy Dates
Now, for the true fun stuff:
The Sixers open their season in Milwaukee on Thursday, October 26th against the Bucks. They are one of just a few teams whose first game does not come until the third day of the regular season: there are two opening night games on the prior Tuesday, and the vast majority of the rest of the league opens on Wednesday the 25th.
Their home opener will come against the Portland Trail Blazers on October 29th.
And, of course, Ben Simmons and the Brooklyn Nets’ first appearance at the Wells Fargo Center will come on February 3, 2024.
The Sixers are back on the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule facing former Sixer Jimmy Butler and the reigning Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in Miami at 8:00 PM EST on ESPN -- a game that just might also feature Damian Lillard.
On January 15, 2024, the Sixers will also be part of the league’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day slate, hosting the Houston Rockets for a 1:00 PM EST game.
As the training camp nears, though, the spotlight should not be on the Sixers’ opponents. This is a team that needs to do some soul-searching and find its identity. With Harden’s future being very much up in the air, Embiid, Nick Nurse and company must look inward for answers.