NBA excludes historic Celtics-76ers rivalry from schedule release

76ers-Celtics matchup missing from opening night, Christmas Day schedule

With two of the league’s biggest rivals agreeing on one of the most stunning trades in recent history, it seemed like a no-brainer that they would have a marquee matchup. However, the NBA began rolling out its schedule release and a matchup between the 76ers and the Celtics was nowhere to be found.

Instead, Philadelphia will face the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers on opening night and Christmas Day respectively, while Boston plays the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat on those same dates. While the 76ers and Celtics will most likely still have some games against each other on national television, even some media members — like Basketball Network’s Damien Peters and Spotrac’s Keith Smith — are surprised the league didn’t match them up on two of the biggest days of the NBA calendar.

Why NBA missed golden opportunity with schedule

Embiid, Tatum and Brown have all written many chapters in the historic rivalry, including four playoff series against each other that have resulted in three Celtics wins and one Sixers win so far. Now that Brown is on Philadelphia’s side and Boston got back forward Paul George, who is considered to be on one of the worst contracts in the league, the drama between the two teams has only been heightened.

The NBA seems to try pairing up teams on opening night and Christmas Day with some sort of history or that hold animosity towards each other, which made people believe the 76ers and Celtics would match up. There is still a good story behind their actual opponents on those days, but nothing that can hold a candle to their 60-plus-year rivalry with each other. The league will still generate a ton of revenue and interest on those days, but it feels like they missed a golden opportunity here.