The NBA schedule rarely raises eyebrows, but this time, it is. The Philadelphia 76ers appear to have received a remarkably gentle path through the 2026-27 season, with Adam Silver seemingly making life easier for Joel Embiid and Co. But there may be more behind this unusual comfort, especially with LeBron James still casting a massive shadow over the league.
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“Man, the favoritism is so real. It’s crazy. It seems: why is the NBA scared to let go of LeBron? I don’t know. ‘Cause that’s what it seems like, right?” Monse Bolaños told on The Odd Couple after examining the Sixers’ schedule. “Like they’re afraid that once he’s gone, that’s it. The league is not going to be what it is. And I don’t know why they feel like that.”
Now, the radio host has a point. The New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs gave the league a timely reminder of its appeal. Their 2026 NBA Finals drew 20.58 million viewers per game over five contests, with ABC and ESPN carrying the series.
Moreover, those numbers made it the NBA’s most-watched championship series since 1998. That surge matters. It shows the league can create massive interest beyond its biggest stars, giving plenty of reason to trust its exciting next generation.
“Like, why are they scared to let go, to move on? It is part of life. And at this point, it makes no sense because you said it perfectly in our pre-show meeting that I don’t know how much LeBron brings in positive stuff to the league in the last couple of years,” Monse Bolaños added.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ early schedule looks unusually friendly. They will wait until their 18th game to face their first Western Conference opponent, that is, the Portland Trail Blazers. Even more striking, their first trip west comes only with their 21st game in Houston.
Moreover, they also avoid a multi-game Western Conference swing until Christmas. That gives LeBron James and Co. a softer opening stretch. Philadelphia has fewer three-games-in-four-nights stretches than any other NBA team. It also has the league’s lowest number of back-to-backs.
Those gaps can mean more recovery time. If you look into it carefully, it feels like Adam Silver is giving both James and Joel Embiid enough time to rest. Yet the strange part is the combination.
The Sixers get the easiest workload while receiving the most national television exposure alongside the Spurs. The Lakers and Knicks are also among the league’s biggest television draws.
So Philadelphia gets plenty of spotlight without facing the same scheduling grind. That balance makes the setup especially curious. For some, it might feel coincidental. But for others, this feels like a schedule made to make things easy for LeBron James and Joel Embiid to some extent, to say the least.