The C's seem likely to be pushed out of the national television windows in 2026-27.
Well, it seems pretty clear that the new-look Philadelphia 76ers are set to take over as the new "it" thing in the NBA for 2026-27.
After trading for Jaylen Brown and signing LeBron James, the 76ers are going to get plenty of national television exposure, and it will undoubtedly come at the expense of the Boston Celtics, at least in part.
As we predicted, the 76ers are going to get shown a ton on television next year, and that was confirmed on Monday, with reports circulating that Philly will get 34 nationally televised games, the full amount allotted under the current collective bargaining agreement.
Between the league's deal's with Amazon, ESPN and NBC, the Celtics will, of course, still be shown, but they are no longer as interesting without Brown, at least from the broader audience standpoint.
While the full schedule is not out yet, it's also likely that the upstart San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and New York Knicks receive a high-number of games on television.
From the Celtics' perspective, they'll just have to work to make themselves interesting on the court, and they'll have the opportunity to do that, with Jayson Tatum taking center stage as the leader of this team for the first time.
Beyond that, Payton Pritchard and Derrick White will get an opportunity for outsized roles and Paul George will have an opportunity to be a big part of the rotation - as long as he can stay healthy.
More on the TV schedule
The Celtics and 76ers are frequent matchup partners for the Opening Night of the NBA season, but will they be again?
Brown against his old team is certainly appetizing from the league's perspective, and when you throw LeBron in, it feels like a great ratings grab.
However, could the 76ers open up against the champion Knicks in a battle of NBA champ vs. biggest conference challenger?
The same thing we said about Opening Night can be applied to Christmas Day. The Celtics have typically played on the holiday and often play against the Knicks. Will they be in that prime spot again, or will the new-look 76ers replace them as one of the biggest draws on the holiday calendar?
The Celtics preseason schedule is already out, and it features two matchups with the 76ers already, which could also impact whether or not the C's play them early in the season.
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