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

From the very start, when Tyrese Maxey played his first game for the 76ers as a 20-year-old workaholic, his blueprint to stardom was drawn. But it would not be easy.

The NBA wasn’t convinced Maxey could improve his efficiency or increase his ceiling. As a result, the projected lottery pick slid to the Sixers at No. 21 in the 2020 draft.

But league executives should have known Maxey was different. The son of a well-respected and brutally honest basketball coach, the Sixers star was held to the highest standards while outworking everyone. His father, Tyrone, demanded optimum effort and stellar play during his basketball upbringing.

He worked out so frequently early in his NBA career that former Sixers coach Doc Rivers had to bar him from coming to the practice facility on off days. Still, he occasionally found ways to sneak in a workout. Nothing would stop the 6-foot-2 combo guard from improving his craft.

Maxey, who began his career as a third-teamer, seized about every opportunity presented to him. Now on Sunday — 1,152 days after his NBA debut — he’ll play in his first NBA All-Star Game. Maxey, now 23 and in his fourth season, will be an Eastern Conference reserve in the 8 p.m. exhibition in Indianapolis.

“Honestly, as a kid, I grew up saying I’d be an All-Star and those different things,” Maxey said. “But when it actually comes to light and it comes to something that you are and you see your name on the list, it’s kind of surreal.

“I know a lot of hard work went into it. I got what I deserved, but to still actually see it come true is like crazy.”

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Maxey and reigning MVP Joel Embiid became the first pair of Sixers teammates named All-Stars in the same season since Embiid and Ben Simmons in 2021. Embiid will miss Sunday’s showcase after undergoing meniscus surgery in his left knee on Feb. 6.

While Embiid is the Sixers’ present superstar, Maxey, who will receive a lucrative contract extension this summer, is their future.

He’s averaging career highs in points (25.7 per game), rebounds (3.7), assists (6.4), steals (1.0), and minutes played (37.2). The pride of South Garland High School outside Dallas scored a career-high 51 points in a road victory over the Utah Jazz on Feb. 1, after scoring 50 points in a home win over the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 12.

“Well deserved,” Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said of Maxey’s being recognized. “He should be an All-Star. He’s one of the best guards in the league.”

Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard, compared Maxey to Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a leading MVP candidate.

“Just the improvement of each year, adding something and getting better,” Kidd said. “Now Shai, he’s talked about being an MVP. When you look at those two, I think they’re very similar with their ability to score and dominate the game. I think just looking at each year getting better and they’re comfortable being in the spotlight is also a big thing.”

Maxey showed signs on Nov. 18, 2020, the night the Sixers drafted him, that he would work to become an elite player.

Seated between his parents, Maxey displayed just how grateful he was for that moment after being passed over by several teams. “I thank Philadelphia for this opportunity,” he said, “and I promise you it won’t be a regret.”

The initial plan was to bring Maxey along slowly on a veteran team with backcourt players like Simmons, Seth Curry, Danny Green, Furkan Korkmaz and Shake Milton expected to play ahead of him.

“But in training camp, I think I was doing pretty good,” Maxey said. “So I went from playing on the third-string team, like the team that has no jersey, no Phila across the jersey, then I went to the second team, and played a little bit on the first team. So when you do that, you gain the coaches’ trust every single game.”

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By the season opener, Maxey was in the normal rotation. He played 10 minutes, 51 seconds in his debut as the Sixers defeated the Washington Wizards. Maxey posted six points on 3-for-6 shooting along with 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

He averaged 7.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 16 minutes over the next eight games before becoming an emergency starter against the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 9, 2021. The Sixers, ravaged by the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and injuries, had just eight active players in its loss that day.

And even that number was misleading. Mike Scott, one of those active players, was dealing with a left knee bruise and didn’t play.

Maxey turned the game into a stage to showcase his skills.

He finished with 39 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Both of his turnovers came late in the game. In the process, Maxey joined Hall of Famers Allen Iverson and Hal Greer as the only Sixers rookies to score at least 39 points in a game.

“I feel like I earned my spot and everything that was given to me,” he said of being in the rotation as a rookie. “And then just [that day against Denver] is just the day you have an opportunity. Like I tell our guys now, especially with a lot of guys missing, there’s a lot of teams that you are going to play against. There’s a lot of national televised games that you are going to play in. You go out there and you seize the moment.

“There’s a lot of teams watching, a lot of people watching, and you go out there and prove yourself and try to earn a spot in this NBA.”

In his second season, Maxey was elevated to the starting lineup in the wake of Simmons’ refusal to play for the Sixers. After the disgruntled player was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for James Harden, Maxey maintained his starter spot while shifting back to shooting guard. Since then, he’s been an emerging star. Upping his averages to 17.5 points and 4.3 assists, he finished sixth that season in Most Improved Player voting.

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“I think we should celebrate Tyrese,” Rivers said after the Sixers were eliminated by the Miami Heat in the second round of the 2022 playoffs. “He grew up in front of our eyes.”

Maxey took the second-round exit to heart. He was determined to use the loss to fuel him through the offseason.

“I just love the kid,” Rivers said. “I think you know that.

I’ve only said it 100 times, and he is still learning how to win too. He’s learned how to execute and come out of timeouts and run the right plays. You know, he may have to be a point guard at some point. Right now, he’s more of a two, which was good for him. But he has a lot to learn. I will say this with him, he will learn it because he’ll outwork every single person this summer.”

Last season, Maxey took his game to another level, averaging 20.3 points and shooting a career-best 43.4% on three-pointers as the third star behind Embiid and Harden.

But there were concerns with how he would adjust to resuming point guard duties this season after Harden forced a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 1. While he’s not your traditional floor general, he has blossomed into one of the league’s most exciting players.

“He has a great feel for the game,” said Sixers coach Nick Nurse, who replaced Rivers in July. “He knows how to get downhill, he knows how to create contact, get fouls. That’s huge for a lot of guys that are young in the league. They don’t really pick up on how to get fouls so early, so big shout-out to him.

“I think probably just seeing more of the game … being more of a point guard and putting guys in position. Like, ‘Kelly [Oubre Jr.], I need you to come out left!’ … Being a chess player sometimes instead of always just [being in] attack mode is something for Tyrese to be better at, but we’re learning.”

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And Maxey is producing impactful performances while doing so.

Prior to Embiid’s injury, he and Maxey were the league’s top scoring tandem. The teammates are just the NBA’s third-ever duo to record multiple 50-point games in a season. This season, Embiid has scored at least 50 points three times while Maxey has done it twice.

Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West were the first pair of teammates to accomplish the feat during the 1961-62 season. Baylor scored 50 or more points five times that season, and West did it twice. Kevin Durant (three times) and Kyrie Irving (twice) then accomplished the feat two seasons ago with the Brooklyn Nets.

But Maxey’s motivation goes back to starting his NBA career as a third-stringer.

“For me, a guy who’s always been a star and different things in high school and college, whatever, to go in there and have to earn my spot, it was nice,” he said. “It was a good moment for me.”