Fans were cautiously hopeful on Wednesday night heading into the Philadelphia 76ers’ season opener in Boston. Coming off an absolute dumpster fire of a 2024-25 season, championship expectations were out
the window, but expectations were present for, dare I say (?), fun.
The Sixers then rewarded that optimism with a thrilling 117-116 win over the rival Celtics. While third overall pick VJ Edgecombe undoubtedly deserves his flowers for a historic debut that saw him score 34 points in his first-ever game, a Sixers franchise record and the third-best all-time in league history, Philadelphia wasn’t coming anywhere close to winning at the Garden without the 21st overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft, Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey dropped a game-high 40 points, shooting 7-of-9 from three-point range and tacking on six assists. It was a reminder to everyone that this is the same guy who made an All-Star team two seasons ago and flambéed the New York Knicks in the postseason just 17 months ago. Everyone that called for the Sixers to explore a trade for Tyrese during the offseason were going back and deleting some old posts on Thursday morning. The 24-year-old is still very much a part of the Sixers “second timeline” while currently being the franchise’s biggest win-now piece. Outside of an opposing franchise making a Nico Harrison-esque gaffe, there’s no reason Maxey shouldn’t be in Sixers red, white and blue (and sometimes black!) for years to come.
Everything Maxey brings to the table was on full display against Boston. Defense was a weaker area of his game early during his time in the league, but Tyrese has worked at it tirelessly, and is now routinely making impactful plays on that side of the floor (two steals and a block against the Celtics).
There’s also simply no one faster at getting end-to-end in the league, creating a high-percentage scoring opportunity out of vapor.
The long hours spent with Drew Hanlen continue to pay dividends for Tyrese. The young man has every shot in his bag now. He had Celtics wing Josh Minott lunging at ghosts with a stepback three in the second quarter.
We could go on and on with the highlights, whether it was a tough floater in the lane or his midrange jumper while drifting towards the sideline at the end of the shot clock. The point is that there’s no limit to Maxey’s scoring arsenal, especially when defenses aren’t able to solely focus on him due to contributions from teammates like Edgecombe.
Last season was undoubtedly a tough one for Maxey. He dealt with injuries himself, and the increased burden of opposing defenses’ undivided attention as teammates made a continuous march onto the injury report. Not to play body language doctor, but you could tell it all weighed on him and some of the joy was lost from his game. Well, it’s a new year now, and sure, winning salves all wounds, but tell me this isn’t a guy back to having a lot of fun on the basketball court.
I’m looking forward to how Edgecombe follows up his debut, but I’m also greatly encouraged to have this version of Maxey again, with a smile on his face and a swagger in his deadly stepback.
