By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Whether they win more games or they don't, 2016-17 is going to be an exciting one for Philadelphia 76ers basketball. Draft picks Ben Simmons and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot will be on the roster in addition to the much anticipated debuts of Dario Saric and Joel Embiid are expected.
On Thursday, the NBA released the schedules for all NBA teams and Philadelphia is set to open their regular season at home on Wednesday, October 26 at 8:00 p.m. against the Oklahoma City Thunder on ESPN. This will be the first time since the 2012-13 season that the team will be nationally televised.
After hosting the Thunder, the Sixers host Atlanta, who added Dwight Howard to the roster, on October 29 and Orlando on November 1 before hitting the road for their first game away from Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday, November 2 in Charlotte. Five of the Sixers first six games will be at home, so fans will have plenty of opportunity to get a glance at the new-look roster right out of the gates.
The Sixers will be on national television five times during the 2016-17 season. In addition to their season opener against the Thunder, they will be on TNT on November 17 when they visit the Timberwolves. ESPN will televise the matchup between No. 1 pick Ben Simmons and No. 2 pick Brandon Ingram on December 16 when the Lakers visit Philadelphia. NBA TV will air the Sixers matchup with Utah on November 7 and at Houston on November 17.
Some notable matchups at home include November 5 against the defending NBA Champion Cavaliers, November 25 against Dwayne Wade's Chicago Bulls and December 3 against Boston as No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown visits Philadelphia. The New York Knicks, now with Derrick Rose, will make their first visit to the Wells Fargo Center on January 11 while the Houston Rockets, led by former Sixers associate head coach Mike D'Antoni, will be in town on January 27. Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the rest of the Warriors make their only visit to Philadelphia on February 27.
This season, Philadelphia will have 17 back-to-back games and their longest home stretch of the season will consist of a five-games from November 19 to November 27, including games against Miami, Chicago and Cleveland.
To view the entire 2016-17 schedule, click here.
