The 2026-27 NBA schedule has been released in all of its glory. Unsurprisingly, there's no shortage of primetime matchups on the schedule of the New York Knicks.
They open the season against LeBron James and his Philadelphia 76ers, with the title defense carrying on from there. New York won't wait long to see Mitchell Robinson's new team, their longtime rival Boston Celtics, either.
It's on NBA Rivalry Week, though, that the league seems to have misstepped. They put the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks on the Knicks' schedule. Neither team is one of New York's biggest rivals.
Apparently, even an NBA Championship wasn't enough for the league to give the Knicks some sensible consideration. One of the nastiest one-sided rivalries in sports will continue, with social media accounts worldwide licking their chops at the thought of Photoshopping more Timberland boots onto Washington Wizards point guard Trae Young.
NBA missed the mark with Knicks' Rivalry Week — again
Last season, the Knicks had just one Rivalry Week matchup. It was against the 76ers. It made sense for the Indiana Pacers to get snubbed, with Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles injury taking most of the firepower out of that potential showdown.
The 76ers, though?
The Knicks' 4-2 defeat of the Sixers in the second round of the 2024 Eastern Conference Playoffs was full of legendary moments, from Donte DiVincenzo's unforgettable shot to end Game 2 to Tyrese Maxey's 30-foot prayer at the end of Game 5. It still didn't necessarily scream rivalry.
It got worse when New York swept Philadelphia in their 2026 second-round rematch. It was a largely uncompetitive series that saw the Knicks win four games in front of what sounded, looked, and felt like a home crowd at Madison Square Garden.
When the 76ers added James and Jaylen Brown over the offseason, they began to stand out as an actual potential Knick rival. It'd be silly to save those games for Rivalry Week, though, and the league knows it; the NBA is making the right business decision by starting its season with Sixers at Knicks.
Neither the Lakers nor Hawks are Knick rivals
Where the league is missing the mark, though, is by lining up the Hawks and Lakers for the Knicks' Rivalry Week.
Los Angeles star Luka Dončić has a history with Brunson from their days on the Dallas Mavericks, but the two are far from rivals. James was the only thing fueling any sort of Knick/Laker rivalry over the last few seasons. He's gone.
And while CJ McCollum pushed New York to their limits in the first round, their 2-1 lead didn't last long. His Hawks lost that series 4-2. And Young, the player who started it all, still plays for the Washington Wizards.
Even if the 76ers were off the table, the Pacers, now that Haliburton's back; the Celtics, even without Brown; or the Heat, now that Giannis Antetokounmpo took his talents to South Beach, all presented as better options.
Knick fans will spend Rivalry Week remembering that their first two championships came at the cost of the Lakers, and that the Hawks technically inspired the 13-game win streak on their way to their most recent title.
Okay.
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