Student becomes the teacher: Lessons learned along Tyrese Maxey’s path to Most Improved Player

Tyrese Maxey was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player earlier this week because of his talent and work ethic, and that his “Get 1% better every day” mantra is playing out in real time.

Yet the 76ers’ fourth-year guard is also quick to dish out appreciation to those who have assisted him as he blossomed into an All-Star and bona fide Joel Embiid co-star, after averaging 25.9 points and 6.2 assists during the regular season.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey is named the NBA’s Most Improved Player

Maxey has been in a unique position since entering the NBA in 2020. Because he slipped to the 21st spot in the draft, he immediately went to a win-now team with an MVP-caliber anchor. But Maxey has also been around excellent guards, including three former All-Stars in Ben Simmons, James Harden, and Kyle Lowry, and a boisterous role player in Patrick Beverley.

“What they all did here,” Maxey said earlier this week, “they never stepped on my toes. They never hated. They always tried to build me up.”

Here are some of the lessons Maxey took from each of those teammates:

It’s easy to forget that, when Maxey was a rookie in 2020-21, Simmons was an All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year contender. He was also an instantly friendly face for Maxey, because they were both represented by Klutch at the time.

Maxey recently chuckled in amazement while reflecting on “just the way he was” before back injuries (and a holdout) derailed much of Simmons’ past three seasons. His defensive versatility to guard all five positions is not exactly a skill the 6-foot-2 Maxey can replicate. But Simmons was also a master on offense at aggressively getting downhill, pushing the ball ahead, and facilitating to teammates.

“He always found ways to keep his teammates happy, as far as passing the ball,” Maxey told The Inquirer before a shootaround in Cleveland last month.

Then, Simmons’ absence was also critical to Maxey’s development. Simmons refusing to play after requesting a trade before the 2021-22 season thrust Maxey into the starting lineup, when he flashed the dynamism that put him on this path to stardom.

Shortly after Harden joined the Sixers at the 2022 trade deadline, he pulled Maxey to the side during a game at the Milwaukee Bucks.

Maxey had started by consistently feeding Embiid the ball, instead of attacking the basket or looking for his three-point shot. Harden stressed that Maxey being aggressive did not mean he was being selfish. It meant he was helping Embiid get open.

“If you’re just going to come out there and just throw the ball to Joel every single time,” Maxey recalls Harden telling him, “then all the defense is going to be on him, and it’s going to make it harder for him.”

That was the start of a strong relationship between Maxey and Harden, which Maxey still defends even following Harden’s messy departure from the Sixers early this season.

Harden — a former MVP and future Hall of Famer who led the NBA in assists with the Sixers last season — said, with Maxey, he emphasized becoming a consistent player, not one only capable of hot stretches or one good season. They also regularly discussed changing pace with the ball to keep defenders off-balance, rather than being in hyperdrive at all times. Ditto with keeping a tight handle and making sharp passing reads, which Maxey believes helped him prepare to handle the extra defenders while shouldering even more of an offensive load this season.

Maxey committed only 1.7 turnovers per game during the regular season, and joined the Dallas Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving as the first two players in NBA history to average at least 25 points, five assists, and fewer than two turnovers per game.

“He said, at some point — which he was right — you’re going to cause a lot of attention,” Maxey recalled. “You’re going to have to be able to find ways to make other people better, and find ways to get into the paint and not look just to score for yourself. …

“I’ve done a way better job at it this year. But even now, try to manipulate when [the defense puts] two on the ball, when I get trapped or different things like that. Find ways to still be aggressive, but also make sure my teammates are in the right position to score the ball and make plays for each other, as well.”

» READ MORE: From star to superstar? Tyrese Maxey’s historic performance in Game 2 should flip the script

Like Simmons, Harden’s departure fully opened the door for Maxey to become the Sixers’ lead guard and No. 2 scoring option. He and Harden recently matched up against each other during two late-March games against the Los Angeles Clippers, including when Maxey got baited into one of Harden’s signature four-point plays.

“He was like, ‘No, you tried to hurt me,’” Maxey said that night. “And I was like, ‘Never, bro.’ ”

Harden reciprocated the praise following the Clippers’ win in Philly, saying he is “very, very proud” of Maxey.

“He’ll continue to get better,” Harden said. “He’ll continue to grow. And he’ll be a problem for a very, very long time in this league.”

Following a Christmas clunker in a loss at the Miami Heat, Beverley had a blunt message for Maxey.

“Maybe you can’t do it without Jo,” Beverley said, referencing that Embiid had missed the game with a sprained ankle.

That locker-room conversation surfaced because Maxey shared it during an interview with the “Million $ Worth of Game” podcast, and Beverley confirmed the story on his PatBev Pod. Two games later, Maxey dropped 42 points in a win at the Houston Rockets.

“Turned him up,” Beverley said.

Beverley’s tougher-love approach with Maxey matches Beverley’s intense personality and on-court style. They regularly played 1-on-1 at the Sixers’ practice facility, providing Maxey with a tenacious on-ball defender. Beverley also encouraged Maxey to become more of a vocal leader, insisting “you demand respect from the way you work,” Maxey said.

And Beverley appreciated the way Maxey absorbed feedback, because “a lot of guys kind of feel threatened when I’m around.”

“I’m here to nurture you in a time of need,” Beverley said back in December. “I’m going to push you. In practice, I’m gonna be in your ass, and I expect the same. … Just to be a small part of his success is definitely fortunate.”

The Sixers traded Beverley to the Bucks at the February deadline, paving the way for them to sign Lowry off the buyout market. When the Sixers played in Milwaukee the following month, Maxey and Beverley swapped jerseys following the game.

This time, Maxey wrote a candid message of his own:

“U CAN’T GUARD ME!!!”

As a kid, Maxey used to marvel at how Lowry got past defenders and to the basket despite his 6-foot frame.

“How can he be so small — he’s a little smaller than me — and he still finishes at the rim and gets big guys up on pump fakes?” Maxey pondered.

Now Maxey has watched Lowry, a six-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors, up close since he joined the Sixers following the All-Star break. Maxey, in turn, made an immediate impression on Lowry, who told The Inquirer “The kid is unbelievable, man” before a game in Milwaukee in March.

“It ain’t even me,” Lowry said when asked about his early impact on Maxey. “It’s him. … Just the receptiveness he’s had to me. I don’t talk to him too much. I just try to give my tidbits when I can.”

Maxey has been receptive to an animated Lowry barking at him from the sideline, or while sharing the floor in the starting backcourt. During Thursday’s Game 3 victory over the Knicks, for instance, Lowry visibly encouraged Maxey to direct teammates into the right position while he had the ball — an example of the leadership Maxey has picked up from the veteran.

“He’s someone who demands excellence from everybody,” Maxey said of Lowry. “Not just himself. Not just the coaching staff. But the players, everybody. … He’s always on top of his stuff. You can’t be mad at someone who’s always working. He does the film work. He does all the preparation.

“He knows what’s going to happen in the game. So if he’s telling you something, that means that he’s looked at it, he’s watched it, he’s lived it and he has the experience of it.”

Evidence of Maxey’s and Lowry’s quick bond was on display in the locker room following the Sixers’ March 29 loss at the Cleveland Cavaliers, when they watched the end of a wild Knicks-Spurs game together on Lowry’s propped-up cellphone.

And following Thursday’s victory over the Knicks, Maxey and Embiid were in the middle of their customary postgame chat, which can range from serious game breakdowns to playful banter.

Then, Maxey asked Lowry to join them.