If you’re acting like Joel Embiid and Paul George do not exist, that’s probably good for your mental health if you’re a Sixers fan. It’s just not worth the time to play the guessing game as to when the two veterans will return or how many games each will play this coming season. Unfortunately, Jared McCain is already hurt for Philadelphia, but Tyrese Maxey appears to be all systems go as we are now less than one month from the start of another Sixers season.
The Sixers are going about this season
with the hopes that last year was the perfect storm of bad injury luck and they can at the very least return to the playoffs in 2026. With the status of Embiid and George seemingly forever up in the air, the next step in Maxey’s career is going to need to be as much of an intangible as it is a tangible. Understandably, questions have been asked if Maxey’s ceiling is that of a superstar on a championship team with statuses of Embiid and George so murky. If it’s not, then Philly is going to have some figuring out to do down the line anyway. But separate from his playing ability, Maxey will need to carry the Sixers through some of the more mentally trying times of 2025-26 as well.
On nights that Embiid and George do not play, and surely there will be many in which both are out, Maxey will not only have to be the statistical leader for the Sixers, but he’ll need to be the vocal leader. The cast of characters that Maxey will be dealing with on those nights is a group of mostly young players whose roles are still very unknown. With that said, it stands to reason that whoever takes the floor with Maxey on those nights could certainly use a confidence boost and that’s another area where Maxey can help. After all, Maxey himself wasn’t a lottery pick and had to work his way up the organizational ladder to get to where he is today.
The last 5-10 years of Sixers basketball have been rife with disappointment and the Sixers have understandably been the punchline of many jokes amongst NBA fans. But there’s no better success story for Philly than Maxey. Granted, had there been an NCAA Tournament in 2020, Maxey’s stock may have risen enough to the point where the Sixers would not have been able to select him with the 21st overall pick. But one would figure that young players on Philly’s roster can be inspired by Maxey’s rise to stardom and now it will be up to Maxey to help guide those young players in their own development.
The obvious beneficiary from Maxey’s leadership qualities this season would be VJ Edgecombe. While Edgecombe was a much higher pick than Maxey, his personality and demeanor seem to make him someone that would be receptive to teaching. In other words, Edgecombe doesn’t appear to be entering the league as a hot shot who thinks he has it all figured out already which can be the case for certain lottery picks. Quentin Grimes is now back with Philadelphia for 2025 but the situation did not seem to be resolved smoothly and Grimes might not be the happiest player this season. Jared McCain is injured. It seems like there’s a path for Edgecombe to get a lot of minutes right away.
Maxey turns 25 next month, so he’s certainly not in his final years in the NBA, but that also makes him five years older than Edgecombe. It sure seems like he’ll have to pass down a lot of what he learned about life in the NBA to Edgecombe right away, who appears to be a candidate to start next to Maxey in the backcourt on opening night. One of the veteran guards on Philly’s roster is Kyle Lowry, who spoke highly of Maxey’s leadership qualities.
“He’s always known … how good of a basketball player he is, but [he’s] also [realizing] how good of a leader he is,” Lowry said. “And once you put those two together it takes you to a different level of believing in your abilities. … He wants to win, but bringing everybody together is an innate ability that he’s starting to figure out he has.”
Between Trendon Watford, Adem Bona and Johni Broome, one would figure a lot of the frontcourt minutes on nights Embiid is out are going to go to youngsters. Maxey can be the one to get on the right page with these inexperienced bigs and point them in the right direction. Whether it’s Xs and Os like pick-and-rolls that a lot of guards and bigs will work on together, welcoming newcomers like Watford and Broome to the organization, or simply motivating all three guys to reach new heights, Maxey is undoubtedly the best player to voice those messages to other players. He sure seems ready to be more vocal.
“I think the biggest thing I’m trying to accomplish is we need a standard,“ Maxey said. ”Like ‘this is who we are’ every single day, no matter who plays, no matter how doesn’t play. When you play the Philadelphia 76ers, this is what you see. You want to see that team every single night.“
Of course, there’s no guarantee that Maxey’s leadership abilities translate to more wins in 2025-26. The team just might not be good enough to withstand the inevitable absences from both Embiid and George. But this season could certainly be far less painful on everyone if a leader that played most nights stepped up in the locker room to voice certain sentiments throughout the season. Tyrese Maxey is the best and only option for that role.
