Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, budding photographer, shows laser focus on court at NBA Summer League

LAS VEGAS — Tyrese Maxey is the fun-loving, unquestioned leader of the 76ers’ Summer League team.

That becomes obvious the moment one sees his interaction with teammates here. His leadership and infectious personality have been on full display on and off the court.

“My role is to help guys,” the second-year point guard said. “I’m not really a vet-vet, but I played one year. I have a little bit of prior experience.

“So I’m trying to give a little bit of the knowledge that the coaches have given to me and try to spread it amongst the team.”

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That has benefited Jaden Springer, the 28th pick in the June 29 draft. Maxey talks with Springer during practice to make sure the 18-year-old is always in the right spot.

“Then he just tells me to, ‘Make sure you stay in the gym, keep working no matter what, because you are a rookie, you have to set the tone coming in,’” Springer said.

Maxey is the team leader in scoring and picture taking.

He’s averaging 26 points through the first two games of the NBA Summer League.

Maxey had a game-high 31 points to go with six rebounds, five assists and two blocks in Thursday’s 96-88 overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks at the COX Pavilion. Seventeen of his points came in the fourth quarter and overtime period on a combined 6-for-9 shooting.

That came after Maxey scored 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting as the Sixers rolled to a 95-73 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday at the Thomas & Mack Center. Fourteen of his points came in the first quarter.

In addition to shooting the ball, he has shot photos after games and practices. Maxey took pictures with a couple of cameras, including a Kodak single-use model, after practice Wednesday evening at UNLV.

But let’s just say his initial photos weren’t as sharp as his basketball skills.

“Well, first of all, blurry is the new clear,” Maxey joked about a picture he took earlier in the week. “I bet you people liked that picture, actually.

“But I’m just having fun out here, enjoying the time out here in Vegas, enjoying these guys. We kind of bonded really quickly.”

Regardless of the photos’ quality, Maxey enjoyed documenting Charles Bassey, Paul Reed, and Rayjon Tucker following Wednesday’s practice.

“I just like taking pictures,” Maxey said. “I just like stealing [Sixers photographer] Alex [Subers’] camera and taking pictures. And I look kind of cool. So hey.”

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Being outgoing and boisterous is nothing new for the 20-year-old. “I’ve been like this all my life,” he said. “As soon as I came out of the womb, I was happy. I get to do what I love every single day and I have to thank God for it every single night.”

But who’s the best photographer on the team?

Swingman Matisse Thybulle is a good photographer and videographer.

“Right now, Matisse,” Maxey said. “But I just started. So I’ve got to catch up. We are not talking about Matisse right now, OK. It’s my interview. I’m just playing.”

Maxey wasn’t the only Sixers player with a hot hand against the Hawks. Isaiah Joe had 21 points, while Reed finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds.