The Philadelphia 76ers kicked off the 2026-27 NBA season with an encouraging 106-100 victory over the defending-champion New York Knicks in their building.

The Sixers got major contributions across their star-studded starting five in the season opener. Tyrese Maxey led the way for Philadelphia with 28 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, while Jaylen Brown added 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in his Sixers debut. Joel Embiid tallied 13 points, 11 reboudns and 6 assists and LeBron James contributed 14 points, 9 rebounds and 7 asssists.

That quartet received the bulk of the attention heading into the game, and they'll garner most of the attention after it, and deservedly so. But, four players can't win a championship on their own. The Sixers will need some meaningful bench contributions if they're going to reach their potential as a team, and they got that from Anfernee Simons in his debut with the team.

Anfernee Simons Impresses in 76ers Debut

Heading into the season opener against New York, it wasn't even known if Simons would be playing in the game. He was initially listed as questionable with a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the entirety of the preseason with his new team. Ultimately he was cleared to play, and he ended up having a major impact in the game, specifically in the third quarter.

With the game extremely close coming out of halftime, Simons provided the Sixers with a major spark off of the bench in the third quarter by connecting on three shots from long range in relatively rapid succession.

When Simons connected on his first triple of the third quarter, the 76ers were down six. His third 3-pointer gave them a one-point lead. His ability to come in and provide the Sixers with some firepower off of the bench was exactly what the doctor ordered, and his production helped swing the game in Philly's favor.

In all, Simons finished the contest with 13 points and two rebounds in 25 minutes. He shot 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-8 from long range. It was an impressive performance that is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he didn't get the benefit of playing in the preseason at all. One would assume that there might be a bit of rust that he would need to shake off, but it certainly didn't look like it.

Anfernee Simons Fills Major Areas of Need for 76ers

Philly fans familiar with the team's trajectory over recent years probably recognized that Simons' performance in the opener addressed two specific areas that have plagued the team in recent seasons: Bench production and third quarter scoring.

The Sixers had the fourth-lowest scoring bench in the entire NBA last season (32.4 points per game), ahead of only the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Knicks. They were also the second-lowest scoring third quarter team in the league last season, as they scored just 27.3 points per game in the third. Only the Brooklyn Nets scored fewer points in the third than the Sixers.

It was only one game, but Simons showed major promise in his Sixers debut. If he can keep it up, he'll plug some major holes for Philly and provide some much-needed support for the starting group.