Tyrese Maxey will miss at least three weeks with tendon injury to his right little finger
Maxey’s three-week reevaluation timeline falls around March 31, when the Sixers would have only seven games remaining in the regular season.
Tyrese Maxey will miss at least three weeks with a tendon injury in the little finger on his right hand, the 76ers announced Tuesday night.
The diagnosis comes following consultation with multiple hand specialists, including a review of additional imaging, the team said. This injury is to the same finger that Maxey hurt a little more than a year ago, which severely hampered his outside shooting while he tried to play through it and then prematurely ended his season. Coach Nick Nurse said Monday that Maxey’s recent injury history with that finger “obviously adds to the concern factor, for sure.”
Maxey, one of the NBA’s top scorers, was hurt Saturday when he inadvertently collided with teammate Adem Bona in the closing seconds of a loss at the Atlanta Hawks. He was initially ruled out for the Sixers’ next two games, and was wearing a splint on the finger while with the team for the loss Monday in Cleveland.
Maxey’s injury is ill-timed for the Sixers (34-30), who are already playing without Joel Embiid (oblique) and Paul George (suspension). Standout rookie VJ Edgecombe, who had missed three games with a back bruise, returned to the starting lineup for Tuesday’s home game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Sixers are fighting for Eastern Conference playoff positioning, entering Tuesday in eighth place with 18 games remaining. They were 1½ games behind the seventh-place Miami Heat and sixth-place Orlando Magic, and one game ahead of the ninth-place Hawks. Maxey’s three-week reevaluation timeline falls around March 31, when the Sixers would have only seven games remaining in the regular season.
Maxey, an All-Star starter this season, has blossomed into one of the league’s most dangerous offensive weapons and durable superstars.
He entered Tuesday ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring (29 points per game) and leading the league in minutes played (38.3 per game), while also averaging 6.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 2 steals. Before Monday’s absence, Maxey had played in 61 of the Sixers’ 63 games and had not missed a game since Dec. 14.
“He’s a constant for us,” starting wing Kelly Oubre Jr. said when asked Saturday about Maxey’s impact. “He battles every night. Comes in, does his work, leads by example. He’s definitely a catalyst to our success. I think the world of him. I think we do, too, as a team.”
Following Tuesday’s game against Memphis, the Sixers will visit the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons on Thursday before a home back-to-back against the Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday and Sunday.