Tyrese Maxey shrugs off All-Star snub after dropping 42 points: ‘That doesn’t upset me at all’
Maxey, who became a first-time All-Star last season, praised the other Eastern Conference guards who were chosen as reserves by the NBA's coaches.
When Tyrese Maxey was asked late Friday about not being selected as an All-Star reserve, the 76ers’ standout immediately shifted to expressing excitement for the Eastern Conference guards who did earn that distinction.
Such as Darius Garland, who overcame injury and subpar production last season to help lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to the top of the conference.
And Cade Cunningham, the leader of the upstart Detroit Pistons whom Maxey frequently matched up against as kids growing up in the Dallas area.
And Tyler Herro, a fellow former standout at Kentucky now putting up great numbers for the Miami Heat.
Maxey did not flash any public disappointment at a perceived snub, even if the decision arrives during the best statistical stretch of his 2024-25 season — and perhaps of his NBA career.
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“Everybody’s deserving, so that doesn’t upset me at all,” Maxey said after dropping 42 points in the Sixers’ 137-134 down-to-the-wire loss to the Denver Nuggets. “Like I said, I’m more focused on trying to help this team win and get better, and that’s the biggest focus that I’ve had these last couple weeks.”
Maxey certainly had a case to be an All-Star for the second consecutive season. The 24-year-old entered Saturday ranked sixth in the NBA in scoring, at a career-high 27.5 points per game, while also averaging 6.1 assists per game. He has spearheaded a Sixers team that has been without the oft-injured perennial All-Stars Joel Embiid and Paul George for significant portions of a disappointing 19-28 season. Both players also missed Friday’s game.
And Maxey was not the only player squeezed out of a crowded guard pool in the East. The Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young, who leads the league in assists (11.4 per game entering Saturday), also was not chosen. Neither was the Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball, who led the fan vote in this category and has stronger raw stats than Maxey, averaging 28.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.3 rebounds entering Saturday.
Coaches’ reserve ballots were due Monday, meaning Maxey’s performances this week — which also included a 43-point outburst in a throttling of the Los Angeles Lakers on national television, and a 30-point, eight-assist effort in a comeback victory over the Sacramento Kings — were not part of the considered data. And until recently, Maxey’s shooting efficiency (44.2% from the floor, 34.3% from three-point range entering Saturday) had noticeably dropped while playing the bulk of the season without Embiid, his big-man partner in a powerful two-man game.
Though Sixers coach Nick Nurse said Friday that he was “disappointed” that Maxey did not receive the midseason honor, he also may have provided a glimpse into how many of his colleagues choose their reserves. Nurse acknowledged he seeks opinions from staffers while filling out his ballot, and weighs team success “pretty heavily.” While the Sixers have won four of their past five games and have been more competitive overall since December, they still are 19-28 and out of the play-in picture entering Saturday.
“I really start there, with the top teams,” Nurse said Wednesday, “and start seeing who they have, and who maybe should deserve to be on [the All-Star team] because of how well their team has played.”
Yet Friday, was Maxey at his best. His performance, which included nine assists and a 6-of-11 mark from three-point range, came in a matchup that, before the season, was billed as one-time MVP center Embiid versus three-time MVP center Nikola Jokić.
In crunch time of a tight game, it turned into Jokić versus Maxey. Jokić scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the fourth quarter, including 11 points in the final 2 minutes, 11 seconds. Maxey scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting in that period — with every point coming in the final 3:50.
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Maxey converted three consecutive driving layups in less than a minute of game action, flipping a five-point deficit into a 123-122 advantage. Two free throws on another burst toward the bucket put the Sixers up 125-122 with 2:20 to play. Another finish tied the score at 130 with 53.5 seconds to go. And two more free throws cut the Nuggets’ lead to 133-132, before Jokic’s game-sealing floater with 12.7 seconds left.
“A lot of it doesn’t seem overly forced,” Nurse said of Maxey’s recent play. “He makes a move and he’s by [his defender] and he’s in the lane and he’s at the rim. And if he sidesteps for the three, he usually creates enough space. … The two things he can really do are turn on the jets and sidestep juke you for open shots, and he’s hitting a number of them now.”
Maxey took accountability for one costly late miscue, when he got switched on to guarding Jokić and committed a “bad foul” that the Nuggets’ superstar turned into an old-fashioned three-point play. Yet perhaps Maxey’s greatest improvement this season has been in his activity and physicality as a defender, helping him average 1.9 steals and quickly unleash his speed going the opposite direction.
During this broader surge in offensive production and efficiency, Maxey has drawn praise from Nurse and teammates for better overcoming opposing defenses’ traps and other funky coverages. The point guard also continues to develop chemistry with big man Guerschon Yabusele, who scored a career-high 28 points Friday and spaces the floor as a three-point threat. And the way Maxey has shouldered the burden of this injury-riddled season — and matured as a leader — cannot be understated.
There’s a possibility that Maxey could still be selected as an All-Star injury replacement, should one be needed between now and mid-February. Yet Maxey, who also ranks second in the NBA with 37.9 minutes per game, let an excited exhale escape when asked about getting a legitimate All-Star break.
“I may not look at a basketball for a minute,” Maxey said. “And that’s going to be very difficult for me, but I’m going to have some fun.”
Yet Maxey not making the All-Star team does not erase his All-Star-caliber season. He was at that level again Friday against the Nuggets, while going toe-to-toe down the stretch with the three-time MVP.
“I just watch him sometimes,” Yabusele said of Maxey, “and he just takes the ball and goes, and nobody can stop him. Sometimes on the court, [I’m] just watching him, like, ‘This kid is incredible.’ …
“I don’t understand why he’s not an All-Star, but I don’t want to start that conversation. But I want him to keep going and keep showing his skills and what he can do.”