The Philadelphia Sixers released their 2016-17 schedule on Thursday and will begin with a home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, Oct. 26 in a nationally televised game on ESPN.

Five games will be broadcast on national television with two games on TNT and one on ESPN and two more games will air on NBA TV.

Following the season- and home-opener against the Thunder, the Sixers host the first of three weekend afternoon games on the season vs. the Atlanta Hawks at home on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1:00 p.m. In addition to the game against the Hawks, the other matinee games feature the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 1:00 p.m. and the Boston Celtics on Sunday, March 19 at 1:00 p.m.

HOME SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS:

** CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the defending NBA Champion Cavaliers make two trips to Philadelphia, both on weekends in November. In addition to the game on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7:00 p.m., with the second visit coming on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 1:00 p.m.

** GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: Kevin Durant joins Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the new look Western Conference Champion Warriors for their only game at Philadelphia on Monday, Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m.

** NEW YORK KNICKS: The Atlantic Division rivals - with Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis - travel to Philadelphia twice, the first time on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7:00 p.m. and then again on Friday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m.

** CHICAGO BULLS: Dwyane Wade joins his hometown Bulls and Olympian Jimmy Butler, who visit Philadelphia on Friday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, April 6 at 7:00 p.m.

** HOUSTON ROCKETS: The Sixers host James Harden and a high-octane offense led by Head Coach Mike D'Antoni for the Rockets only visit to Philadelphia on Friday, Jan. 27 at 7:00 p.m.

** LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Leading rookie of the year candidates collide when Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric host Brandon Ingram and the Los Angeles Lakers for their only visit to Philadelphia on Friday, Dec. 16 at 8:00 p.m.

** MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: The last two Rookies of the Year – Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns – travel to Philadelphia to meet this year's leading candidates Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7:00 p.m.

FAST FACTS:

** NATIONALLY TELEVISED GAMES: The Sixers will have five nationally televised games this season. The home opener vs. Oklahoma City on Oct. 26 and home game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 16 will be televised by ESPN, while TNT will carry the Sixers match-up at Minnesota on Nov. 17. NBA TV will nationally televise the Sixers games vs. Utah on Nov. 7 and at Houston on Nov. 14.

** BACK-TO-BACKS: The Sixers have 17 back-to-back games this season, down from 21 during the 2014-15 season and 19 last season. The Sixers have two home-and-home, back-to-back games this year (after having three last season), coming on Friday, Dec. 2 vs. Orlando at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 3 vs. Boston at 7:30 p.m., and then again on Friday, Mar. 3 vs. New York and Saturday, Mar. 4 vs. Detroit.

** ALL-STAR BREAK: The Sixers final game before the All-Star break will be at Boston on Wednesday, Feb. 15 and then will resume play in Philadelphia on Friday, Feb. 24 vs. Washington  - an eight-day stretch between games.

** HOME SWEET HOME: Philadelphia’s longest homestand of the season is a five-game stretch beginning on Saturday, Nov. 19 vs. Phoenix, and then the Sixers host Miami (11/21), Memphis (11/23), Chicago (11/25) and Cleveland (11/27).

** ON THE ROAD: The Sixers have two five-game, nine-day trips this season:

The first begins at Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 29, continues at Dallas (2/1), at San Antonio (2/2), at Miami (2/4) and concludes Monday, Feb. 6 at Detroit. The second begins on Monday, Mar. 20 at Orlando, continues at Oklahoma City (3/22), Chicago (3/24) and Indiana (3/26) before concluding at Brooklyn (3/28).

** AIR TIME: The Sixers two longest flights of the year occur during the same road trip. The team flies 2,412 miles from Philadelphia to Portland to play the Blazers on Thursday, March 9, then concludes the trip with a 2,523-mile flight from San Francisco back to Philadelphia after playing the Warriors on Tuesday, March 14. The Sixers will travel a total of 40,392 miles this season.

** TRADITION CONTINUES: The Sixers will have a four-game, eight-day road trip at the end of December, starting at Phoenix on Friday, Dec. 23 and concluding at Denver on Friday, Dec. 30.

BREAKDOWN BY MONTH:

OCTOBER: 2 games (2 home, 0 road)
NOVEMBER: 17 games (11 home, 6 road)
DECEMBER: 14 games (7 home, 7 road)
JANUARY: 14 games (7 home, 7 road)
FEBRUARY: 12 games (4 home, 8 road)
MARCH: 17 games (6 home, 11 road)
APRIL: 6 games (4 home, 2 road)

Over the course of the season, the Sixers will face each NBA team at least once at home and once on the road, including Eastern Conference opponents twice, both home and away, except for the following: Cleveland (2 home, 1 road), Washington (2 home, 1 road), Charlotte, (2 road, 1 home), and Detroit (2 road, 1 home).

 

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