Meeting a governor, birthday half-court heaves and bonds built: Scenes from the Sixers’ six-game road trip

Hop onto a 76ers charter flight, Tyrese Maxey says, and you won’t see players with their heads buried in their cellphones. You’ll hear actual in-person conversations.

“That’s unheard of nowadays,” the second-year point guard said. " … We have a great time with each other, laughing, talking about different things.”

That collective mindset was necessary to “survive” a grueling six-game road trip played entirely without Joel Embiid and partially without Tobias Harris, Seth Curry and Danny Green. It’s why coach Doc Rivers called the jaunt to Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, Denver, Portland, Sacramento and San Francisco “phenomenal” from a team-spirit perspective, despite a 2-4 record capped by a difficult Wednesday finale against Golden State.

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“You can’t explain it. You just see it,” Rivers said. “This is a very close-knit team, you could see it through the game tonight, and that’s why we’re gonna be a really good team.”

Many of those subtle, in-between moments on a trip like this are shared privately between teammates and staff, especially in a time with no media locker-room access during the ongoing pandemic.

But here are six scenes, one from every stop, observed by The Inquirer that thread the narrative of this trip and where the Sixers stood heading into Thanksgiving weekend.

Before Harris took the floor to warm up ahead of the Nov. 13 game at Indiana, he stopped near midcourt to chat and laugh with old pal T.J. McConnell. So did several Sixers staffers and players, capturing the way McConnell became a beloved player during his time in Philly.

Naturally, McConnell was an absolute pest — and effective — against his former team. He totaled six assists in 11 first-half minutes to help the Pacers build a 20-point lead. And when the Sixers made a late fourth-quarter charge to get within five points, McConnell hit three consecutive shots, including a finger-roll layup to push the Pacers’ advantage back to double digits and all but seal the win.

And in true McConnell fashion, he yelled and pumped up the home crowd after those big plays.

“I hate him,” Rivers joked. " … I love players like that. I just do. You know he’s going to try to do that when you play against teams that he’s on, or other guys that play like that. You can tell your players how hard he plays, but you can’t walk through that in practice.

“There’s no one running around like that in practice. You have to deal with it first-hand. He made a difference again.”

McConnell spent his first four NBA seasons in Philly (2015-19), and averaged 6.4 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.3 steals in 22 minutes per game.

The Sixers spent the most time in Salt Lake City, where they got in an actual practice and former Jazz player Georges Niang visited his favorite restaurant and chef. But that portion of the trip included the most lopsided wire-to-wire defeat.

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But as Rivers emerged from the visitors’ locker room at Vivint Arena, a relatively important passerby in the hallway wanted to say hello to the Sixers coach.

It was Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.

“I actually thought it was the owner at first,” Rivers said. “And then he took his hand out and I’m like, ‘Oh that’s the governor of Utah.’”

Rivers’ teams start every shootaround with a half-court heave. It’s a tradition he started while coaching in Boston, joking, “I was hoping someone would make it [back then] so we wouldn’t have to practice.”

Those shots on the road generally go to somebody who has a connection to the area or has reason for celebration. So as the Sixers gathered at midcourt at Ball Arena in Denver, Rivers handed a ball to assistant coach Sam Cassell.

It was Cassell’s birthday, after all. He had already received thoughtful and playful greetings and well-wishes from players and staffers as they filtered into the gym, including Harris hollering, “He’s 60!” (He’s actually 52).

Did Rivers get Cassell a gift?

“A job,” Rivers quipped. “And that’s the gift that keeps giving.”

Maxey lay on his side along the Moda Center baseline doing a side clam leg-strengthening exercise while singer Haley Johson held a microphone at center-court to rehearse her rendition of the national anthem.

And Maxey could not help but mouth along.

“I’ve always done it,” Maxey told a nearby staff member. “I can’t not do it.”

Though Maxey has quickly morphed into one of the Sixers’ most important players, he still gets “young-guy” distinction when it comes to the timing of his pregame workout.

Rookie center Charles Bassey is always first on the floor, more than two hours before tip-off, before Maxey and fellow second-year players Isaiah Joe and Paul Reed join. That is often before doors open to fans, which means their work can be accompanied by the game operations crew testing fan-engagement videos, the dance team running through a routine, or an anthem sound check.

That night in Portland, Maxey totaled a career-high nine assists and converted a bevy of acrobatic finishes through contact and off the glass. After the game, he provided a fascinating glimpse into how he developed that aspect of his game.

He studied Kyrie Irving, including one video where he began his workout by rapidly spinning the ball off the glass with each hand. With the help of personal trainers Chris Johnson and Tim Martin, Maxey split the backboard into three levels. As a 6-foot-2 guard often trying to finish over much taller players in the lane, Maxey’s goal is to get the ball as high as possible.

“Once you start doing it,” Maxey said, “you find spots on the glass where you know, ‘[If] I can get it to that spot, it’s more likely going to go in.’ So if I can get it off the top right of the glass and I can spin it, it’s probably going to go in.”

Near the Sixers’ tunnel at the Golden 1 Center, Green pulled up a layer of the sticky mat that grabs dust and dirt from basketball sneakers. He balled up the plastic and tossed it toward a garbage can but missed, catching some playful grief from onlookers in the stands and staff working alongside the court.

The veteran shooter chuckled as he cleaned up his mess. Then, his on-court workout was much sharper while testing his tight hamstring. He ran full-speed from one wing to the other, then along the baseline from one corner to the other, before catching and shooting. He backpedaled a couple of steps to the top of the key, then changed direction to one wing before firing. He elevated off two feet under the basket for a dunk.

That was one of Green’s final tune-ups before a productive return from the ailment that had kept him out of parts of 10 of the Sixers’ last 12 games. Two nights later in his return against Golden State, he made his first four shots, and would have been 5-for-5 if he had let an at-the-buzzer corner three-pointer at the end of the opening quarter go a split-second earlier. He finished with 10 points and four steals in a hard-capped 17 minutes, including zero in the fourth quarter.

“They wouldn’t allow me to play more minutes,” Green said. " ... I was trying to get another extra five or six.”

Green alluded to “other things” that might have been affecting him during the game, but he said the hamstring “felt really good.” When asked to clarify those other things, Green said, “Just focus on the hamstring right now.”

As Sixers players and staff trickled out of the Chase Center locker room, “Happy Thanksgiving” was a common farewell. Rivers and Harris also stopped to chat with former Phillies star and NL MVP Jimmy Rollins, who is from the Bay area.

“When we get our guys back … " said Rivers, referring to the potential he believes the Sixers have when healthy. “It’s a good group, too. You’d like them.”

Matisse Thybulle then tucked into a press-conference area walled off by black curtains. He was insightful while reflecting on how guarding Steph Curry prevented him from helping on defense; the Warriors’ scoring avalanche the Sixers could never squash; his teammates’ ability to adapt on the fly throughout this trip, and the need for a mental break over the holiday following the cross-country flight back to Philly.

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“I don’t think there’s really much to dwell on, honestly,” Thybulle said. “The opportunity for guys to get to see their families and everyone to just take a step back, breathe, and be with loved ones will be really good — especially just because of this grueling trip, guys having to play crazy minutes.

“I think the time to slow down, see the people you love, will serve everyone really well.”

Thybulle flashed that perspective and ability to move on a few minutes later, when he popped his head through the curtains as Green spoke from the makeshift stage. It caused Green to crack up in a moment of levity that capped a demanding trip.