Like a lot of NBA players, Tyrese Maxey’s pregame routine includes a post-shootaround nap. That nap happens to occur during the 2 p.m. hour, the very time the league was set to announce its starters Monday for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
So, when the news broke, everyone was excited for him, including rookie teammate VJ Edgecombe, who was blowing up Maxey’s phone.
“I had my alarm set for 2 o’clock,” the rookie said. “I was going to protest if he didn’t make it as a starter. Would’ve
been a problem.”
But Maxey didn’t answer.
He was asleep.
“I’m like, ‘why is he calling me?’ And I answered and he’s screaming and showing me the TV,” Maxey said pregame Monday. “Then my mom called me and then I said, ‘listen, I’m going back to sleep. I got work tonight.‘”
That’s a pretty good encapsulation of Maxey. He was grateful and humbled by the honor, but ultimately just wanted to hoop.
And what better way to cap off the day than by helping snap his team’s two-game losing skid with a 113-104 win over the Indiana Pacers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day?
In his sixth NBA season, Maxey is an All-Star starter. This will also mark the second appearance in the game for the 25-year-old. He’s earned it on the floor, posting career highs across the board in points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks and made threes per game. He earned it from the fan voting, finishing with the fourth-most overall, the second-most in the conference, and the most for an American-born player.
“Thanks, fellow Americans,” Maxey said. “I appreciate y’all, man.”
It wasn’t Maxey’s finest game of the season Monday. The Pacers loaded up on him in a big way through the first three quarters, forcing him to turn defense into offense — and that he did. Maxey recorded 29 points, eight assists and a career-high eight steals.
He’s just the 10th Sixer to ever record at least eight steals in a game. The New Orleans Pelicans’ Herb Jones is the only other player in the NBA to have at least eight steals in a game this season. He also recorded a block and is averaging over a block a game this season. If he finishes the season averaging over a block game, he’d be the first player at 6-foot-2 or shorter to do so in league history (since blocks became an official stat), per Stathead.
It’s just another way Maxey can help his team win games.
“This is kind of how I played in high school,” he said. “I was able to get in the passing lanes, get steals, get some on-ball steals, little strip steals or blocks, whatever they call them. … I just want to make an impact on the defensive end. I feel like I’ve done that this year.”
The hope is no doubt for Edgecombe to be on the receiving end of one of those calls in the not-so-distant future. After a disagreement on the bench went viral last week, both guys sort of laughed the whole thing off. They’re competitive. They want to win. That’s why they’ve bonded so quickly on and off the court.
The rookie has savored the opportunity to play with a like-minded veteran in Maxey.
“His work ethic, his leadership, his character, and obviously his style of play,” Edgecombe said. “He’s an unbelievable player, really special talent, and I get to watch him every day, just go out there and work.”
It feels like just yesterday Maxey was a rookie heaping praise on Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for making All-Star teams and getting accolades. It’s clear now the torch is being passed.
“That’s a great accomplishment, especially as a starter,” Embiid, the seven-time All-Star, said. “It’s only the beginning. It’s a testament to the work he’s put in, and him taking another step this year. That’s amazing.”
