NBA opening night preview: 76ers-Knicks, Celtics-Pistons, Thunder-Spurs
October 19, 20267 min readUpdated October 19, 2026
Three games headline NBA opening night on Tuesday, October 20. All three games air on NBC/Peacock, and every side across the three is priced between 39% and 62%. New York is the only side the market pushes clearly in front: as of October 19 at 12:19 PM ET, the market's implied probability favors the Knicks at 62% at home against Philadelphia.
The other two games sit closer than that. Boston at Detroit is the tightest of the three, and Oklahoma City at San Antonio pairs the two biggest point differentials of the six featured teams, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama on the same floor. Below is where each price sits and the 2025 season form behind it.
Opening night at a glance
| # | Matchup | Market favorite | Gap between sides | Tip (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 76ers at Knicks | Knicks 62% | 23 points | Tue 7:00 |
| 2 | Celtics at Pistons | Celtics 52% | 3 points | Tue 3:00 |
| 3 | Thunder at Spurs | Spurs 56% | 11 points | Tue 9:30 |
Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks
The market
New York is the market's implied favorite at 62%, with Philadelphia at 39%, in the game-winner market for the 7:00 PM ET tip at Madison Square Garden.
Across the 2025 regular season the Knicks averaged 116.5 points and allowed 110.1, a plus 6.4 per-game differential. Philadelphia averaged 115.9 and allowed 116.1, a minus 0.2 differential.
The form
New York's 2025 profile is the more efficient of the two across 82 games: 47.8% from the field and 37.3% from three, against 46.2% and 34.9% for Philadelphia. The Knicks also averaged 27.4 assists and 45.61 rebounds per game, to 24.6 and 43.65 for the 76ers.
The names most likely to shape it are Jalen Brunson for New York and, for Philadelphia, LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Philadelphia's 2025 numbers predate an offseason that added James and Brown, so they describe a different roster than the one taking the floor. In our read, the closest of the two shooting marks in that profile is field goal percentage, 46.2% for Philadelphia to New York's 47.8%, with the three-point gap wider at 34.9% to 37.3%.
See markets for 76ers vs Knicks.
Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons
The market
Detroit hosts this one at Little Caesars Arena and is not the market's implied favorite. Boston sits at 52% and Detroit at 49%, the closest pair of prices among the three featured games, with a 3:00 PM ET tip.
The 2025 season numbers underneath are close to matched: Detroit at plus 8.2 points per game, Boston at plus 7.7. By our read, that is a toss-up in the fullest sense, and the earliest tip of the three gives it the day's first real market test.
The form
Detroit's previous season line is the higher-scoring one: 117.8 points per game on 48.5% shooting with 27.8 assists, against Boston's 114.9 points on 46.7% shooting with 24.6 assists.
Boston's separation sits at the other end of the floor. The Celtics allowed 107.2 points per game to Detroit's 109.6, shot 36.7% from three to Detroit's 35.6%, and averaged 46.37 rebounds to 45.56. Reading that gap, the game is Detroit's shot-making, with Cade Cunningham running the offense, against Boston's prevention and rebounding, with Jayson Tatum and newcomer Paul George among the Celtics' leaders. Boston's 2025 numbers include Jaylen Brown, who is now in Philadelphia, so the Celtics' profile comes from a different roster.
See markets for Celtics vs Pistons.
Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs
The market
San Antonio is the market's implied favorite at home at 56%, with Oklahoma City at 45%, for the 9:30 PM ET tip at Frost Bank Center.
Oklahoma City carries the larger 2025 point differential of the two, plus 11.1 per game to San Antonio's plus 8.3, and is still the lower-priced side here. Put another way, the market is paying for home court in a game the season numbers read as close to level.
The form
Oklahoma City's 2025 edge was defensive: 107.9 points allowed per game to San Antonio's 111.5, alongside a 48.4% field goal mark and 44.12 rebounds per game.
San Antonio scored more over the same season, 119.8 points per game to Oklahoma City's 119.0, and averaged 47.02 rebounds and 28.1 assists per game, both the higher figure of the pair. We'd call that the central question of the night: San Antonio's volume and second chances, with Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox leading the way, against Oklahoma City's prevention, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren at the center of it.
See markets for Thunder vs Spurs.
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Fanatics Markets provides a place where you can trade event contracts on real-world outcomes. A price is the market's implied probability of that outcome: a 62-cent contract implies about a 62% chance. If the outcome happens, the contract pays $1. If it does not, the contract pays nothing and you lose the 62 cents you paid.
See the opening night markets
All three games tip on Tuesday, October 20, starting with Boston at Detroit at 3:00 PM ET. See the full NBA slate, or see markets for 76ers vs Knicks, Celtics vs Pistons and Thunder vs Spurs.
Prices move as the day goes on, so every figure above carries the capture time stated at the top. Learn more about how a market price reads as a probability in the note above.
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