PHILADELPHIA -- It might have been the basketball equivalent of a dress rehearsal, but the 76ers' intrasquad scrimmage Saturday certainly gave a promising glimpse of what could be in store when the curtain actually comes up for the 2026-27 NBA season.
Philadelphia hosted its annual Blue-White game in front of approximately 10,000 fans at Xfinity Mobile Arena, moving the exhibition from their G League affiliate's home in Delaware to accommodate the added interest in the new-look team.
While throngs of fans waited in lines more than 10-deep in the atrium an hour before the noon start, there was plenty of on-court action from LeBron James, Jaylen Brown & Co. to enjoy as soon as the scrimmage started.
"To be able to take what we've done on the practice floor, bring it to a game floor situation around our fans... it was a great first step in the direction we're trying to go," James said.
Longtime Sixers public address announcer Matt Cord, who had retired before deciding to come back once Philadelphia had its historic summer, announced the starters for the Blue team.
First Tyrese Maxey, then VJ Edgecombe, then Brown, then James and then the man in the middle who has been with the franchise for 13 years.