Why the mantra ‘NGE’ will motivate the Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey throughout the offseason

During a season debriefing filled with serious and sometimes uncomfortable topics — Doc Rivers’ job status, James Harden’s future, and why the 76ers failed in their quest for a championship — one topic made Rivers choke up so much that he could not finish his sentence.

Tyrese Maxey had called Rivers in the early-morning hours after the Sixers’ season-ending loss to the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals because the second-year guard “was just hurting.”

“My second year [as a player], I don’t even know if I felt anything,” Rivers aid. “I was too dumb. So it was really a cool conversation.”

That mood was a continuation of when Maxey spoke to the media minutes after that defeat. The normally jovial 21-year-old — who enjoyed a breakout season and was in the conversation for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award — was candidly self-critical about a final performance during which he went 9-of-22 from the floor (1-of-7 from three-point range) to finish with 20 points, 4 assists, and 4 turnovers. And he repeatedly referenced an acronym that he says will now be his mantra throughout the offseason.

“‘NGE: not good enough,’” Maxey said. “I just wasn’t good enough, and I’ll take that on the chin and use that as motivation the entire summer.”

Rivers reminded after Thursday’s loss that Maxey’s season is worth celebrating, that he “grew up right in front of our eyes” and has become a coup as the 21st overall pick in the 2020 draft. He averaged 17.5 points and 4.3 assists per game, and shot an eye-popping 42.7% from three-point distance.

Maxey began the season as the Sixers’ starting point guard, when disgruntled All-Star Ben Simmons refused to play before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets at the February deadline. Maxey needed to become a go-to scorer when COVID-19 hit the Sixers early on, primarily by using his blazing speed to get into the lane and finish creatively at the rim. Then, when Harden arrived and took on the primary ballhandling and facilitating duties, Maxey became a dangerous player who could explode through driving lanes, bury catch-and-shoot threes and beat the defense down the floor in transition.

That blend of flair and hustle makes Maxey a wildly entertaining player who can score in bunches, regularly igniting the home crowd perhaps more than any other Sixer, including MVP finalist Joel Embiid.

“Just proud of him as a player and person, truly,” forward Tobias Harris said of Maxey. “The way that he handles himself, his work ethic, his demeanor, his energy, his attitude on a day-to-day basis is always uplifting.

“Sky’s the limit for him as a player in the NBA. … He just flourished throughout the whole year [into] one of the top young stars.”

Maxey then flashed his ability in his first playoffs as a full-time starter. He dropped 38 points in the Sixers’ opener against the Toronto Raptors. He hit five three-pointers in three separate games, including a 5-of-6 mark in a Game 3 win against the Heat. He totaled 25 points and eight assists in the series-clinching Game 6 at Toronto. Along the way, opposing coaches Nick Nurse of the Raptors and Erik Spoelstra of the Heat both marveled at the rarity of Maxey’s speed.

But Maxey also sputtered at times, including in that season-ender during which he said “we didn’t match their fight.” His five worst shooting performances of the postseason — 4-of-12 in Game 4 against Toronto, 5-of-14 in Game 5 against Toronto, 6-of-15 in Game 1 against Miami, 2-of-10 in Game 5 against Miami, and 9-of-22 in Game 6 against Miami — all came in Sixers losses, indicating how important his production and efficiency are to team success.

Maxey’s widely documented work ethic immediately resurfaced after the season ended. Rivers said Maxey wanted to meet Friday about plans for this coming week, but the coach “refused” because “I think he should take more [time] off than a week.” Yet that diligence is also what elicited Rivers’ emotional response, and what makes Maxey a beloved teammate.

“He works to be a better player, but what Tyrese really wants at the end of the day is to win,” Rivers said. " … I try to get that out of [players], to be emotional about winning and to sell out about winning. That’s been my secret, in a lot of ways, to success. And with him, you don’t have to do it.”

Maxey said he plans to study a lot of film before taking the court to “really start grinding.” He works with renowned trainer Chris Johnson, whose clients include LeBron James and who linked Maxey with point guard mainstay Rajon Rondo for early-morning sessions. Maxey said he wants to focus on facilitating for others and creating his own offense with his handle and off-the-dribble shooting.

Last summer, Maxey’s motto was to get 1% better every day, which he repeated so often that teammates playfully implored him to stop. And before he even left the Wells Fargo Center after being eliminated from this season’s playoffs, Maxey had already publicly uttered his new motivational phrase.

“By this time next year, I don’t want to be able to say, ‘NGE,’ that I wasn’t good enough,” Maxey said. “I want to be able to help my team as much as possible and try to get us over this hump.”