Inside Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey’s family affair at All-Star Weekend: ‘They deserve this as much as I do’

INDIANAPOLIS — While stuck in downtown traffic near Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, Denyse Maxey looked out the window of her family’s rented Sprinter van and spotted a billboard featuring her son, Tyrese.

“I finally realized my son is famous,” Denyse recalled to The Inquirer. “I was like, ‘Wow, that’s my son.’ ”

Tyrese Maxey made his NBA All-Star debut Sunday night, totaling 10 points, three rebounds, and three assists in an uncompetitive, 211-186 Eastern Conference victory over the West. Yet this career benchmark for the 76ers point guard went far deeper than anything that occurred in his 17 minutes on the court.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey scores 10 points in first All-Star Game appearance as East wins, 211-186

He spent the weekend zipping around the city to various events, where his gregarious personality thrived. He picked the brains of fellow All-Stars and basketball legends. And he shared it all with about a dozen loved ones, ranging from his 9-year-old twin nieces to his grandmother.

“I don’t know how to put how we feel into words,” Denyse said about an hour before Sunday’s tipoff, from her seat a couple of rows behind the East’s bench. “You’d have to, like, be inside of my body to know how we feel, to be honest.”

Added Tyrese’s father, Tyrone: “I told him this morning, ‘This is one of the best moments of my entire life.’ ”

The Maxeys always wanted All-Star Weekend to be a family adventure, but also did not want to overwhelm Tyrese. Yet when he called his mother and insisted they all arrive with him in Indianapolis on Thursday night, their celebration began with a private room at Harry & Izzy’s, the next-door sister restaurant of the famed St. Elmo Steak House.

Friday came with a busy itinerary that Maxey called “extremely different — but good different” from when he was part of the 2022 Rising Stars Challenge in Cleveland. That afternoon, Maxey first gazed through falling snow at his massive New Balance billboard — different than the one Mom saw in traffic, by the way — along the side of a high-rise building across from the Indiana Convention Center.

“That was really cool,” Maxey said.

Inside, Maxey recorded his Maxey on the Mic podcast in front of a live audience with WNBA star A’Ja Wilson, a conversation with topics ranging from mental health to similarities between college coaches Dawn Staley and John Calipari to their love of dogs. Backstage, they ran into Hall of Famer and Sixers icon Allen Iverson, with Maxey facilitating introductions to relatives. Later, the family gathered for a dinner hosted by New Balance.

When Maxey walked into the East team’s locker room for practice the following morning, he was initially unsure how to act as a first-time All-Star. His locker was next to the New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, and their connections to Philly and Dallas provided an easy conversation starter. Maxey also chatted with veteran guards Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell, though he playfully declined to share any specific tips received “because then you’re going to tell my secrets.” This is also where he reunited with former Sixers coach Doc Rivers, who was leading the East’s team as Milwaukee Bucks head coach after Adrian Griffin was fired three weeks ago.

“Walking in the locker room, and the first guy I see is Tyrese,” said Rivers, whose dais during his media day session was directly across the room from Maxey. “It was awesome. For coaches, that’s really cool.”

Maxey joked that he had just completed a “hard practice” when he sat down to field those questions, which can turn bizarrely jarring in such a packed setting (with Denyse looking on from the back). When the first one tossed to Maxey was about the league’s best trash talker, Maxey quipped that they were “jumping right into it.”

His answer? Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, “because he does it in a subtle way. He does it in a friendly way, but he’s competitive.”

And to a question about the WNBA player who most mirrors his game: Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream because “she’s just cold. She’s a bucket. She shoots the three well. She plays with a smile on her face all the time.”

And to one about the element of LeBron James’ game he wants to incorporate into his game: “Winning.”

And to one about what his 16-year-old self would think of him today: “This is what you’re supposed to be doing. … He’d be proud of me.”

» READ MORE: Kristen Lappas grew up on Villanova basketball. It helped her make a film about Giannis Antetokounmpo.

At NBA Crossover later that afternoon, an appearance at a fan event sponsored by Starry soda (which Maxey endorses) prompted him to flash back to an uncharacteristically snowy day during Dallas’ All-Star Weekend in 2010. He was a 9-year-old in a similar setting, wearing the East All-Star replica jersey of his favorite player, Dwyane Wade.

“I was stopping and trying to sign as much as I could,” Maxey said, “and was like, ‘This was me. I was one of those kids.’ ”

Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium, Maxey took a video call before the skills competition from injured All-Star teammate Joel Embiid, who gave a message of “Don’t do what [you] did last time.” That was in reference to when Maxey and Scottie Barnes hilariously failed to re-create iconic shots during the 2022 Rising Stars Challenge, as part of the league’s 75th anniversary celebration.

Maxey, though, was whistled for taking the wrong path during the dribbling portion of the relay round, which wasted valuable time. Barnes had his own flub when the ball bounced off his foot and rolled out of bounds. Maxey later received a post-event razzing from Anthony Jackson, the Sixers’ assistant director of team security.

During that same 10-minute meander back to the locker room, Maxey stopped to watch a television broadcasting Malik Beasley’s turn in the three-point competition.

“Man, I should have shot, brah!” said Maxey, who said he was unsure why it was reported that he would partake in that event before he was left off the NBA’s official list.

During lunch on Sunday that began more low-key, Maxey reminded his parents that they allowed him to stay up late to watch the All-Star Game. Hours later, he was on the Gainbridge Fieldhouse floor, warming up alongside Brunson and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The magnitude of the moment finally sank in for Maxey during the splashy pregame introductions.

“The camera got on me really close and tight,” he said. “My name started flashing, and I said, ‘OK, I really have to walk up here and kind of wave my hand and do something.’ ”

He checked in for the first time at 3 minutes, 47 seconds of the first quarter, then scored his first points on two free throws about a minute later. He hit a three-pointer just before the quarter buzzer, then scored five consecutive points on a layup and pull-up triple early in the second. He did not take a shot in seven second-half minutes.

» READ MORE: Third-stringer to All-Star: Tyrese Maxey finds his place among the NBA’s best

Maxey collected signatures from his fellow All-Stars on his red game sneakers before he left the arena, creating a forever keepsake. Still, when asked late Sunday about his lasting memories from the weekend, he circled back to his family.

Like when his nieces found his hologram that welcomed fans to NBA Crossover, interacting with it “for like 30 minutes straight” before the NBA allowed them to make their own. And when his grandmother bought a haul of gear, including Maxey’s replica jersey before he had even seen the real thing in his locker. And when father met Jake from State Farm, Bill Walton, and Spike Lee in the same night. And when best friend Chris Harris, whom Maxey calls a brother, randomly tapped Maxey on the shoulder Saturday to say, “I’m just thankful for being along for this ride.”

“Hopefully, we’ll be here a lot more often,” Maxey responded.

But a first All-Star appearance cannot be replicated. Which is why Maxey — and those closest to him — soaked up the special experience together.

“I love them. I appreciate them,” Maxey said. “They show me love all the time, and support. They deserve this as much as I do.”