The Philadelphia 76ers may be as good as advertised, if their performance on Opening Night against the New York Knicks is any indication. It certainly did not look like the 76ers were integrating plenty of new pieces, as they jelled well enough to earn a 106-100 victory over the Knicks to spoil their ring and banner ceremony at Madison Square Garden.

LeBron James put up 14 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in his debut for the 76ers; it was clear that he was deferring to his teammates, as he put up the fourth-most shot attempts on the night — behind Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Jaylen Brown.

But for James, he loved the way the 76ers played off of each other, especially considering how limited their time to acclimate to one another has been thus far.

“Still getting my rhythm, obviously, you know, just a little bit over two weeks with the new squad. But I like the way we played. I think we played exceptionally well, especially defensively. Didn't shoot the ball well, but we have capable shooters. We know that. Good win to start the season,” James said in his postgame interview with NBC Sports' Zora Stephenson.

"Blessed to be able to play still at this level."

LeBron James after his debut with the 76ers 🗣️

(via @NBAonNBC) pic.twitter.com/ZmgU5X3IfD

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 21, 2026

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The 76ers deserve credit for hounding some of the Knicks' best scorers. They held Jalen Brunson to just 6-of-19 shooting from the field, while OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges combined for just 14 points on 5-of-20 shooting. The Knicks certainly looked like they were suffering from some championship hangover, but Philly deserves credit nonetheless for making it difficult for the reigning champions.

As James said, it's not like the 76ers shot the ball well either. Embiid, in particular, did not look very good in his season debut, scoring just 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting from the field. This suggests that Philly has plenty of room to kick it into higher gear, which should happen as they jell even better over the course of the regular season.