From Overlooked to “The Franchise” – The Early Career of Tyrese Maxey
Tyrese Maxey has flourished into a dynamic point guard who pushes the pace, can score from any level, all while being able to keep his teammates involved as well. Maxey was the 21st overall pick out of Kentucky in the 2020 NBA draft and not many people expected him to have such an immediate impact in the NBA. Now he did go to Kentucky and was a “one and done”, so there were definitely expectations for him to be a good NBA player, but he has already surpassed people’s expectations in his early career. The 21st overall pick means that teams must have thought his offensive game, size, or athleticism would not translate as well to the NBA as it did in college. All the teams in the lottery passed on him, but that would not be the case if those GMs could re-draft today.
Seizing the Opportunity
Maxey had a good rookie year that consisted of some unbelievable performances, but more importantly in his rookie year he showed great energy and work ethic out on the court. His minutes were limited all season, but every time he got an opportunity it felt like he ran with it. Whether that was the game where only 7 players didn’t test positive for COVID and he had to start, he was able to score 39 points against a good Denver Nuggets team. Or when Doc Rivers trusted him with a larger role in the playoffs in both the Wizards and Hawks series, and he immediately would change the pace of the game and caused problems for teams defensively. Every fan left last season ecstatic about Maxey’s potential, but nobody knew how quickly we would see that potential come to fruition.
Ben Simmons decided to sit out every game this season, leaving the Sixers very thin at the point guard position, which provided Maxey with yet another opportunity. Yet again, he has absolutely seized the opportunity and should be in the conversation of the Most Improved Player award. Maxey, at a very young age, was thrusted into an extremely tough position on a championship contending team and he has made it look easy. Maxey has shown a much-improved jump shot, better decision making, and has been able to keep up that infectious high energy and pace. He is now averaging 16.8 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.5 rebounds on great efficiency from the field in only his second year. Even more recently this season the Sixers played against the Grizzlies with Embiid out for the game. Maxey went head-to-head with an MVP candidate guard, in Ja Morant who is on one of the hottest teams in the NBA and put on an absolute show. He was fantastic offensively and was able to come up with so many clutch baskets for the Sixers down the stretch. For a kid who was told he would have difficulty adjusting to the NBA game, he is a major piece of a Sixers team that currently sits in 3rd place in the Eastern conference. Most young players put up great numbers on bad teams, but Maxey is thriving on a championship contender and still is putting up terrific numbers.
Chemistry
Putting up statistics and winning games are things that will always win over the fans, but it has been just as impressive how Maxey has been able to win over his coaches and teammates. Nobody in the organization has had bad things to say about Maxey since he has arrived, and almost everyone praises his attitude and work ethic. It is easy to see while watching him play how much he has been working on his game, and it is easy to see how his teammates react to his success that he is a locker room favorite. Maxey’s biggest supporter on the team has definitely been Joel Embiid, who even went as far as to nickname Maxey “The Franchise”. Getting the public support from the not only the best player on your team, but also one of the best players in the world, says everything you need to know about Maxey’s impact. He went from being a late first round pick to “The Franchise” in just 1.5 seasons with the Sixers and fans have to be excited for what is to come. At only 21 years old, there is no limit on his potential or what he can accomplish.
Potential
Maxey now gets a chance to work with and learn from James Harden for at least the next two seasons. Harden has mastered the ability to balance his scoring and playmaking for others over the years, managing to lead the league in both scoring and assists (in separate years). Maxey is now getting personal lessons and advice from a first ballot future HOF. It is only a matter of time before we see Maxey take another leap and Harden’s arrival in Philly will surely speed that process up.
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Categorized:Sixers