Tyrese Maxey’s impact extends far beyond basketball. Philly is blessed to have him.

Philly is blessed to have Tyrese Maxey.

His value to the city is greater than his stellar play as a 76er. That’s just the basketball version of Maxey. As a person, the 25-year-old continues to build a legacy of giving back to this proud city of roughly 1.57 million people.

So it wasn’t surprising that before participating in Saturday morning’s practice in Camden, Maxey and his Tyrese Maxey Foundation hosted their largest turkey giveaway at the Alan Horwitz Sixth Man Center in Nicetown. They provided 3,000 Thanksgiving meals to families in need this holiday season.

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His event has gradually grown over the years.

This annual tradition highlights Maxey’s continued commitment to giving back. But it’s bigger than that, as this event brings together local partners, volunteers, and families to ensure more Philadelphians can enjoy a happy holiday and a Thanksgiving meal.

“The foundation, my uncle [Brandon McKey], my mama, everybody that is a part of it is doing an amazing job,” Maxey said. “I remember when I first came to it, like I said, it was a small idea that I wanted to do, and it’s turned grand. And that’s a really good feeling.”

All this comes after Maxey hosted some of his other annual events this summer.

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He held his Night of Giving dinner at the Fitler Club, located at 2400 Market St., on July 31.

The next day, Maxey hosted a celebrity golf tournament at the Union League Golf Club at Torresdale to raise money for the foundation. And on Aug. 1, he held the Tyrese Maxey 1% Skills Camp at Penn Charter. The free basketball camp was for ages 7 to 12.

“I think we are blessed to have somebody like Tyrese,” said Eric Worley, the vice president of basketball operations for Philly Youth Basketball. “From the time that [Maxey’s family] came here to the city, you just kind of saw how authentic and genuine they were in regards to giving back and him wanting to really kind of engage in the community.”

Several years ago, Maxey reached out to the founders of Philly Youth Basketball to help identify the location for his first camp. Worley was impressed by how thorough Maxey’s parents and his uncle, Brandon McKay, were when he first met them.

“And it has continued to carry on six or seven years later,” he said. “They’ve been consistent in regards to what their objective and what their mission has been.”

On Saturday, Maxey arrived early before the giveaways to greet the volunteers and business partners, and even posed for countless pictures. He also went around each station with the first person in line, personally putting a turkey and other items in her cart.

And he had to be proud to know that his charitable work was about to help the long line of people waiting to enter the building to pick up their items.

Meanwhile, several folks in attendance were overjoyed to meet one of the NBA’s best players. The point guard is second in the league in scoring with an average of 33.4 points per game. He finished with a career-high 54 points along with nine assists, five rebounds, three steals, and three blocks Thursday in Milwaukee to lead the Sixers to a 123-114 overtime victory over the Bucks. But to Maxey, this isn’t about a star player giving back to the community. He intended to help regardless of his status in the league.

“It had nothing to do with basketball to give back,” he said. “I think my biggest thing was what my grandmother told me at a young age: If I was able and blessed to make it, this is the one thing that she wanted me to do. So I was able to do that as soon as I got into the league. Of course, not my first year because it was COVID.

“But the next year, as soon as we were capable to do it and come up with a plan, we brought it the first year.”

And none of this is surprising to Sixers coach Nick Nurse.

Nurse was moved last October when the team was in Des Moines, Iowa, for a preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. As players exited the bus, a little guy around 5 years old was standing in a Maxey jersey. With no one saying a thing, Maxey got off the bus, saw the jersey, walked right over, and autographed it for the kid.

And the Dallas-area native has done similar things in Philly and other cities.

Maxey is aware of his popularity and embraces the responsibility that comes with it.

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“As good a player as he is, he’s a better person,” Nurse said. “I said that when they did the thing to sign him to his big contract. You just don’t say that because he’s a nice guy and he’s nice to people, and he works hard and he’s got good character and all that stuff.

“He also proves it in his actions. [Saturday morning] is just another example.”