Sixers announce 2022 preseason schedule

We are firmly in the dead zone period of the NBA offseason, but fear not, NBA basketball will be back on your TV screens and mobile devices in no time. In fact, the Sixers will retake the court in less than two months, as the team announced its 2022 preseason schedule this afternoon, beginning October 3 in Brooklyn. Here’s the slate of four exhibition games for the team:

Sixers at Nets - October 3 - 7:30pm ET
Sixers vs. Cavaliers - October 5 - 7:00pm ET
Sixers at Cavaliers - October 10 - 7:00pm ET
Sixers vs. Hornets - October 12 - 7:00pm ET

(Graphic courtesy of Philadelphia 76ers Public Relations)

That first preseason game could be especially juicy considering the possibility of it being the on-court Brooklyn debut for Benjamin David Simmons. I don’t know if you’ve seen, but Ben is shooting elbow jumpers during half-speed offseason runs. Is this the year?!? Watch out, league!

Aside from Ben, the intrigue around both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and whether they will remain on the Nets’ roster would make that first preseason game appointment viewing, even if it wasn’t our first taste of Sixers basketball in months. After the Brooklyn contest, the Sixers will play three games against two young, up-and-coming teams in the East in Cleveland and Charlotte. Both squads participated in last year’s Play-In Tournament and are led by an All-Star guard in his early 20s (Darius Garland, 22, and LaMelo Ball, 20). He probably won’t since its preseason, but if Joel Embiid wanted to recreate this highlight on Jarrett Allen, I wouldn’t mind.

I’m happy with the opponents, but more importantly, it will be our first look at offseason acquisitions De’Anthony Melton, P.J. Tucker, and Danuel House Jr. in a Sixers uniform. Will Daryl Morey’s tweaks to the roster be enough to lift Philadelphia into the top tier of the Eastern Conference? We won’t know after four preseason games, but I’m sure we’ll still draw our own conclusions. Regardless, Sixers basketball will back in our lives in a couple flips of the calendar. Get one percent better as a fan every day and we’ll check back on October 3.