Tyrese Maxey’s performance and personality continue to shine with the Sixers | Keith Pompey
Maxey has blossomed alongside Joel Embiid and James Harden, becoming one of the pillars of the Sixers' offense and locker room.
LOS ANGELES — By now, most folks know Tyrese Maxey is the 76ers’ fun-loving X-factor.
He’s the guy with the infectious smile. And if being raised right was a person, it would definitely be the 21-year-old Maxey.
But aside from his great qualities off the court, Maxey is also one of the reasons the Sixers are an Eastern Conference contender.
That was obvious during the Sixers’ two games heading into Friday night’s 122-97 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena.
Playing without All-Stars Joel Embiid and James Harden, the Sixers had what was perceived as an unwinnable game on Monday against the conference-leading Miami Heat.
But Maxey refused to let them lose.
He scored a game-high 28 points in the 113-106 victory at Wells Fargo Center. Thirteen of his points came in the fourth quarter when he shot 5-for-5 from the field, including two three-pointers. He also had a key block with 21 seconds left.
Embiid and Harden were back in the lineup two nights later in a 126-121 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. But Maxey still had a huge impact on the outcome.
He scored 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including making and made three of his five three-point attempts. He produced seven assists and five rebounds and was a plus-17 in 38 minutes. He also had another big fourth quarter and scored eight in the period.
There’s no denying that Embiid, the MVP front-runner, and Harden, a perennial All-NBA selection, are the Sixers’ best players. But Maxey could have the most significant impact on the outcome of games.
Maxey’s emergence in the role as the third scorer and trusted ballhandler has made things easier for Embiid, who no longer thinks he has to single-handedly will the Sixers to victory. He has a lot of trust in Maxey and encourages him to shoot.
“At the beginning of the season, I probably would’ve tried to drive or tried to go and pull up,” Embiid said of his faith in Maxey after Wednesday’s victory. “He’s taken a lot of steps. He’s gotten so much better. That goes for all my teammates, too.
“I’ve had more trust to make the right play and live with the results. We’re playing extremely well. You can look at the other night in Miami. Being able to pull out that win was huge for us and our confidence. So, we just got to keep doing what we’re doing.”
The Sixers are playing well. They had won five of their last six games. At 46-27, they were in second place and ½-game behind the first-place Heat with 10 games left.
Maxey has had a hand in the Sixers’ success throughout the season.
He was thrust into the starting point guard role at the beginning of the season because because Ben Simmons refused to play and later forced a trade to the Brooklyn Nets for Harden on Feb. 10. Maxey then slid over to shooting guard when Harden arrived.
But his transformation into a clutch player began last season.
“I knew last year it was going to be hard for me to stay in games if I didn’t make shots,” Maxey said. “So it was kind of always on my mind until coach Doc [Rivers] kind of pulled me in after All-Star break, after I didn’t play for like two weeks straight.”
Rivers asked Maxey if he knew why he wasn’t playing. Afterward, the coach told him to “go out there and do what you do.”
“Ever since then, having the confidence [of] him, Joel and Tobias [Harris], and the vets on our team,” he said. “I work hard, so not to toot my own horn, but that’s all I really [attribute] this stuff to. I tell everybody, the work you put in [when] no one is around always comes to light when you play in front of thousands.”
No one on the team works harder than Maxey. He literally lives by the motto, “No days off.” In fact, last summer Maxey completed three on-court workouts each day, with weightlifting in between.
“He’s humble, and he’s a joy,” Embiid said. “A hard worker - probably the hardest worker that I’ve ever been around. He’s always happy, with a smile on his face.”
Maxey gives a lot of credit for that work ethic to his parents, Tyrone and Denise, who sat in the front row at Wednesday’s game against the Lakers. Afterward, Maxey embraced them on the court before heading into the locker room.
“To have my parents there, I just really appreciate them,” he said. “I’m glad they get to reap those benefits. They did a lot for me.”
Maxey said his parents sacrificed a lot for him growing up as he played AAU ball. There were times when they didn’t have the money to make trips.
“But they squeezed it out and we drove from Dallas to Michigan, Dallas to Vegas,” he said. “That’s 21-, 22-hour drives. And I really do appreciate them, and I’m glad that they are just enjoying this.”
The Maxeys got a front-row view of their son’s increased fourth-quarter role.
With Embiid and Harden receiving the bulk of the attention, Maxey has been more aggressive down the stretch. That has benefited the Sixers, especially against the Lakers.
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He hit a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter to give them a 98-93 cushion. Then with the Lakers trying to mount a comeback, he scored a driving finger roll and a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to put the Sixers up nine with 4 minutes, 15 seconds remaining. And he later assisted on Harris’ three-pointer to make it a 119-110 game at the 1:43 mark.
Maxey said his emergence is a result of listening to Rivers, Harden and Embiid, who tell him to be more aggressive and take advantage of opportunities.
“They have so much attention on them, so it’s hard,” Maxey said. “Joel is getting triple-teamed, blitzing James off pick-and-rolls. So they need us, the other guys, to step up — me, Tobias, Matisse [Thybulle] is in there, Georges [Niang] — we have to make shots because we are going to get them, because they are getting doubled and tripled and they are collapsing the defense and kicking out to us.
“So it’s just a confidence thing. I want to do as much to help them win. Help our overall team win. That’s really it.”