All-Star Tyrese Maxey says he’s been ‘blessed.’ The Sixers could say the same thing.

Maxey's skills are undeniable, and he's had some pretty talented mentors, too. But coaches and teammates point to his personality as a separating trait.

Tyrese Maxey, with his parents, Denyse and Tyrone Maxey, was drafted 21st overall in 2020.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published Oct. 13, 2024, 5:00 a.m. ET

DES MOINES, Iowa — Tyrese Maxey says he’s blessed.

As the 21st overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft, the 76ers point guard knew NBA stardom was far from guaranteed.

But he was able to learn from veterans on championship-contending teams. Ben Simmons, All-Stars Joel Embiid, James Harden, Kyle Lowry, Andre Drummond, and now Paul George have provided guidance. He’s been surrounded by other veterans who could learn from, too.

Meanwhile, most of the lottery picks in his draft class didn’t have that luxury. Instead, they had to be the face of a franchise void of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers to learn from.

“Yeah, I have been blessed, man,” Maxey says. “I thank God every single day. Like as a young kid, 19 years old, you are looking at the draft. You are like, ‘Man, I want to go as high as I possibly can.’ But then when you fall to a contending team and you are able to be on a team and soak up all the knowledge that they give you, man, you are blessed.”

Even after his first season, Maxey says he was surrounded by people with different stories.

There’s Drummond, a two-time All-Star and four-time rebounding champion, who took things for granted. As a result, he had to settle for a veteran-minimum contract with the Sixers during the 2021-22 season. Drummond has made sure to tell Maxey not to make the same mistakes.

Maxey says he also was surrounded by “late picks that blossomed late, early picks that blossomed early.”

“I’ve really been blessed with Hall of Famers [in] James and [Embiid],” he said. “It’s just amazing, man. I just try to soak it up.”

And he’s benefited from their guidance during key stages of his career.

Maxey averaged career-highs in points (25.9), rebounds (3.7), assists (6.2), steals (1.0), and minutes (37.5) en route to his first All-Star nod and the league’s Most Improved Player honors in 2023-24. He scored a career-high 52 points in a double-overtime road victory over the San Antonio Spurs on April 7. He had two other 50-point outings: He scored 51 points in a road victory over the Utah Jazz on Feb. 1 and had 50 points in a home win over the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 12.

However, his kryptonite was dealing with opposing teams blitzing him in fourth quarters of games when Embiid was sidelined.

In comes George, whose presence alone will free up Maxey in those situations. George also can help with some of the ballhandling duties so Maxey can use his elite speed to roam the open floor.

“I think the biggest thing I learned from him right now is you can tell how great somebody is as a player if they can fit in anywhere,” Maxey said. “... They don’t have to hunt [shots] to get involved. They get involved by the flow of the game. He does a really good job of that. So that’s one thing I learn a lot.

“And his poise and pace. He’s really good at it. He’s really good at making plays and scoring the ball when he needs to, and he’s been great.”

But it’s hard for veterans with good intentions to not want to mentor Maxey.

In addition to being an elite player, the 23-year-old is approachable. He’s an egoless player whose primary focus is getting better as a way to help the team. It’s no wonder that Embiid regards Maxey as his all-time best teammate and encourages him to take over games.

“Everybody wants to take him under their wing,” coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s got that personality. But it continues. I know you hear this stuff over and over. But we walked off the bus today, there was a little guy, I don’t know, 5 years old, sitting there with a Maxey jersey. Nobody had to say anything.”

Maxey got right off the bus, saw the jersey, and walked right over and autographed it for the kid.

The Dallas-area native is aware of his popularity and embraces the responsibility that comes with it.

“You got to love that about him,” Nurse said, “and, again, work ethic, just consciousness of knowing who he is. All that stuff is really, really, really amazing. And I think all that stuff is all in the makeup of who he is and who he can become as a player.”

Those are some of the reasons why it was a no-brainer for the Sixers to re-sign Maxey to a five-year, $203.8 million contract in July.

So in actuality, the Sixers are the ones blessed to draft him.