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Sixers Will Open 2021 Preseason With Back to Back Games vs. Raptors

The Sixers will begin the 2021 NBA Preseason in a couple of months. When they kick off the preview to the new season, they'll do so against the Toronto Raptors.

Justin Grasso

Sixers Will Open 2021 Preseason With Back to Back Games vs. Raptors
Sixers Will Open 2021 Preseason With Back to Back Games vs. Raptors /

The Sixers will begin the 2021 NBA Preseason in a couple of months. When they kick off the preview to the new season, they'll do so against the Toronto Raptors.

On Friday afternoon, the NBA released the entire regular season and preseason schedules. As expected, the Sixers will be back on track with an 82-game schedule after playing condensed seasons over the last two years.

But before they begin their season-opener against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 20, they'll go through a four-game schedule against several Eastern Conference opponents.

The Preseason Schedule 

  • October 4, 2021: at Toronto Raptors
  • October 7, 2021: vs. Toronto Raptors
  • October 11, 2021: vs. Brooklyn Nets

The Sixers begin the preseason with two straight games against the Raptors. Last season, the 76ers faced the Raptors three times in the regular season. 

Although the Sixers have done not-so-great against the Raptors in the regular season over the years, they defeated them two out of three times last year. They'll get an opportunity to prepare for each other with two meaningless games in October.

The third preseason outing will be a battle between the Brooklyn Nets and the Sixers in South Philly. This matchup has been known for roughly about a week now. Could the Sixers finally get a look at Brooklyn's big three altogether on October 11? 

It might be wishful thinking, but these two teams will face each other less than two weeks after their preseason battle, so if it doesn't happen on October 11, it could finally happen on October 22.

Last but not least, the Sixers will face No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons for the fourth and final preseason game of the year. It'll be the final outing that doesn't count for anything until the Sixers open the season up on the road in New Orleans five nights later.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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