The Sixers are about to watch the Knicks raise a championship banner Tuesday night. Then they’ll have 48 minutes to crash the rest of New York’s party.

That’s the scene at Madison Square Garden on opening night: the defending champions getting their rings, LeBron James making his regular-season debut for Philadelphia, and two Atlantic Division rivals with plenty of recent history between them. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. The ceremony will be loud, but what happens after it could tell us a whole lot more.

The Knicks’ Championship Edge

The Knicks have every right to celebrate. Jalen Brunson led them to their first title since 1973, dropping 45 points in the Finals clincher against San Antonio. And, for better or worse, New York made Philadelphia part of the championship story too. The Knicks swept the Sixers in the second round last spring by holding them to 102 points a game and closing things out with a 144–114 blowout that saw 25 New York threes.

That came after the Knicks beat Philly in six games in the 2024 playoffs. Even the casual fans don’t need a full history lesson on this rivalry to understand the point.

Philadelphia’s New Formula

Philadelphia spent the summer making sure they wouldn’t bring the same answers back to the Garden. Jaylen Brown got brought in from a trade with Boston. James signed on for his record 24th season. Put them next to Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe, and the Sixers have one of the most imposing starting groups in basketball.

They also have five players who’ll need to figure out what to do when the play isn’t for them.

That’s the part a roster graphic can’t solve. Embiid and Brown each used more than 32% of their teams’ possessions while they were on the floor in last season’s playoffs. Maxey spent most of the regular season creating his own offense. James can still run a game better than almost anyone. Coach Nick Nurse has to turn all of that into something more useful than taking turns.

There's also the chance they figure it all out quicker than people expect. In Philadelphia’s preseason finale, James had seven assists while Embiid, Maxey, and Brown combined for 69 points. Maxey could be the biggest beneficiary if LeBron handles more of the setup work. Last season, he shot 41.8% on catch-and-shoot threes, and then just 33.3% off the dribble. Getting him the ball before a defender’s ready sounds like a better plan than asking him to beat a set defense over and over.

The Knicks’ Counterpunch

The Knicks, of course, aren’t going to make those passes easy. Brunson controls the pace, Karl-Anthony Towns can pull a center away from the rim, and OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart give New York plenty of ways to make life difficult for Philadelphia’s scorers. Most of that championship experience is back, too. The Sixers might have the flashier collection of names, but the Knicks already know how their pieces fit together.

Start with Brunson and Maxey. Both can take over a quarter, and neither needs much room to get a shot off. Maxey’s quicker in the open floor. Brunson’s perfectly happy to slow things down, get a defender leaning, and make one good decision feel inevitable. If this turns into a possession-by-possession game late, that difference could matter.

The work happening behind them matters, too. Towns will try to pull Embiid into uncomfortable spots defensively. Embiid should be ready to return the favor by going after New York’s new-look center rotation. Mitchell Robinson left over the summer, and Andre Drummond came in. If Embiid can get Towns into foul trouble, the Sixers have a pretty clear path to making this matchup look a lot different than it did in May.

Philadelphia’s Biggest Questions

Whether they can keep that pressure up is another question. Embiid has played just 96 regular-season games over the past three years. None of Philadelphia’s projected starters showed up on Monday’s initial injury report, but several reserves were questionable or out. That could leave Nurse without many options when Embiid sits or when New York starts putting the Sixers’ defense through the wringer on back-to-back trips.

And then there’s the fourth quarter. Brunson scored 45 in the Finals clincher and has made a habit of finding answers when New York’s season is on the line. The Knicks know who starts a big possession.

Philadelphia has plenty of players who can make that kind of play. Does James run the possession? Does Maxey attack? Does Brown hunt a mismatch? Does the ball go through Embiid? Having options is great — until everybody spends the shot clock figuring out whose turn it is.

Prediction

So, who wins? I’m taking the Knicks, but barely. Their roles are already pretty clear and Brunson’s earned the late-game trust. The Sixers are trying to install a new offense in real time on banner night at the Garden, that just sounds like a tough way to spend an opening night.

A New York win would show that the habits behind their title made it through the celebration and the offseason. A Philadelphia win would mean more than just “LeBron looks good in a Sixers uniform.” It’d show this group is already starting to answer the questions that usually take months to sort out.

Either way, the rings go on before tipoff. After that, the Knicks have to defend them.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com.