Tyrese Maxey is no stranger to accumulating NBA honors, having made two All-Star game appearances thus far during his professional career and All-NBA Third Team last season. Now he is being recognized by a publication outside the NBA sphere, being named to Time Magazine’s Time100 Next 2026 list, recognizing the world’s most influential rising stars.
Here’s the writeup from Time’s website on how the list was chosen:
“We launched TIME100 Next in 2019 with the belief that the nature of influence was changing. When the TIME100 was born at the turn of this century, influence largely derived from traditional power structures and timing. We created TIME100 Next knowing that influence can now come early and, when it does, through channels that work outside the establishment.
…
Our team, led by Dan Macsai and Cate Matthews, spent months working with our editorial colleagues around the world, seeking out the individuals who best represent the stories shaping our world. Among the key themes: those working to increase access to education, individuals leading the AI revolution, leaders tackling immigration, and politicians seeking to create a new kind of leadership in their own countries and around the world. We invited members of our TIME100 community, including LeBron James, Matthew McConaughey, and Angeline Murimirwa, to tell us what the impact of this new crop of leaders means to them.“
You’ll notice new teammate LeBron James mentioned there, who penned the excerpt supporting Maxey’s inclusion in the list. Maxey was listed in the Leaders section.
“Tyrese Maxey gets better every season, and he’s really just getting started. Even more important than his getting better just as a player, I’ve seen him grow so much as a leader for our team on and off the floor. He’s been doing the work, and it shows.
We’ve been training together the past five years in the summertime, and our relationship off the floor definitely influenced my decision to come to Philadelphia and join the 76ers. Everything that has happened to him has happened for a reason. His best attribute: the type of person he is. He’s a special kid, super down to earth, never gets too high or low, and walks in with a smile every single time. Great vibes.
He’s just a joy to be around. It’s up to us as his teammates to continue to push him to be as great as he can be. I’m happy to be a part of it.“
As anyone who has been around him attests, Maxey has an infectiously positive personality and no one works harder at his craft. Signed to Klutch Sports, you know Tyrese is getting exposure to these sorts of broader media circles (USMNT star Folarin Balogun was another Klutch client named to this year’s list). With LeBron now around on a day-to-day basis during the season, I’d imagine the off-the-court opportunities and connections will only increase. While Maxey works to get one percent better every day on the court, his name might become one percent more well known each day by the wider public. Congratulations to Tyrese on the recognition.
