NBA Props: Best Bets for Sixers at Knicks on Tuesday 10/20/26

After a long and eventful offseason, the 2026-27 NBA season is finally here. Following a summer of unexpected trades and a flurry of free agency surprises, the association is back for a highly anticipated campaign, and the showcase game takes place at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

Following a miraculous run to their first NBA title in over 50 years, the New York Knicks will celebrate ring night and raise their championship banner to the rafters against LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and the new-look Philadelphia 76ers. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and the market is expecting this showdown between Eastern Conference contenders to be plenty competitive.

New York is a 4.5-point home favorite for this matchup and the total is set at 232.5 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Let’s dig into some of the best player prop bets for this opening night contest between Atlantic Division rivals.

Sixers vs. Knicks NBA Player Prop Bets

OG Anunoby Over 23.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-118)

Few players saw their stock rise more than OG Anunoby over the course of last season. Anunoby was often touted for his defensive prowess in the earlier stages of his career, but his skillset on offense was a major question mark. However, since his arrival in New York during the 2023-24 season, Anunoby has continued to develop all areas of his offensive game, which led to a major leap forward last postseason. The Indiana product averaged 20.1 points per game during the Knicks dominant playoff run, while grabbing over six rebounds and adding nearly a combined three steals and blocks per contest. Furthermore, he did so on excellent efficiency — shooting 56.1% from the field and nearly 49% from beyond the arc. Anunoby missed a pair of games against Philadelphia due to an injury he suffered in Game 2, but the versatile wing was 16-of-25 (64%) from the field in that series prior to his injury. While I can’t expect that level of production to be sustainable over a full season, Anunoby has thrived in this matchup in recent years, and I’m confident in his ability to find success again on Tuesday.

The Knicks have been able to lean into Anunoby’s strengths under Mike Brown, and it’s no coincidence that the 6’7″ forward cleared this prop number in three of his last four games played against the Sixers. In fact, Anunoby has tallied at least 24 points + rebounds + assists in nine of his last 12 meetings against the Sixers in a Knicks uniform, dating back to 2024. While Philadelphia did upgrade at the wing defender spot with Jaylen Brown now in the lineup, Anunoby will likely spend most of his time on offense either hovering around the corners and crashing the glass for rebounds, or cutting off-ball while Karl-Anthony Towns or Jalen Brunson direct traffic. Given that he likely won’t be marked by one of the Sixers’ top defenders, Anunoby should be able to leave a noticeable impact in the stat sheet in this one.

Joel Embiid Over 22.5 points (-105)

The success of the Philadelphia 76ers this season hinges on a myriad of factors, but one of the most important elements is the health of Joel Embiid. When healthy, the center from Cameroon is one of the most skilled big men we’ve ever seen at the position, but his health has been anything but a certainty over the course of his 12-year NBA career. However, an encouraging sign for Sixers fans and backers came in Philadelphia’s preseason finale, in which Embiid tallied 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists in just 29 minutes on court. Compared to how he looked for most of the 2025-26 season, the former MVP appeared to be much more comfortable on court and even looked like his old self on a play where he dunked over Celtics guard Hugo Gonzalez.

A fully healthy Embiid is a massive windfall for a Sixers team that desperately needs high-level play from their big man, and it wouldn’t shock me if Embiid played at least 30 minutes in this season opener. Historically, Embiid’s numbers against the Knicks have been excellent, even when he’s playing at less than full health. In fact, he just averaged 24 points per game against New York a season ago, and most of those matchups featured a compromised version of Embiid. The Kansas product should get some easy looks from the midrange against the Knicks drop coverage when Brunson and Towns are on the floor at the same time, and it wouldn’t shock me if Embiid also managed to get Towns in foul trouble early on. With Towns off the floor, the Knicks would be operating at a massive disadvantage in the paint, which could lead to plenty of opportunities for Embiid to either dominate his matchup against Andre Drummond or get fouled and head to the free-throw line. There are more mouths to feed in this new Sixers offense, but the most consistent scorer is still the big man in the middle.