PHILADELPHIA -- As Tyrese Maxey prepares for his seventh season with the Philadelphia 76ers, he has established himself as one of the cornerstones of this franchise. He is a 2-time All-Star and has been a positive influence on all of his teammates, including the elder statesmen of the team in Joel Embiid, LeBron James, and others.
Maxey averaged 28.3 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in the 2025-26 season while leading the Sixers to a 45-37 record and a rally from being down 3-1 to eliminate the Boston Celtics in Round 1.
Now, in the midst of an important training camp, he has continued to be that leader and his team notices his presence.
"I don’t know who I was telling the other day, but like every time we played Tyrese when I was in Cleveland,
I used to call him the Cavs Killer," said President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey. "He’d always have like 35. I’m like, ‘Man, this guy, we can’t stop him.’ But just seeing him up close, because I haven’t really been around him much, but like just his body, he’s really got stronger. Athletically, he’s really bouncy right now. The thing that I’ve noticed that people have told me that he hasn’t done in the past is being more vocal."
Maxey recently received praise from Jaylen Brown for his ability to welcome him into the team and get him up to speed on what they want to run. As long as that can continue, then the Sixers will be in a great spot to get everybody on the same page.
"I think, like, you know, obviously, him and Jo are like the old elder statesmen here with the team and with Jaylen and LeBron and all the other new guys in here, I think he’s trying to take on a vocal leadership role with our group because the talent, the skill level, I mean, some of the stuff he does in practice is like, ‘Woah.’ " added Gansey. "You know, like I’ve never seen that before. So I think he’s doing great. He’s in a great space and I love what I’ve been seeing so far."
Embiid has always kept it plain and simple with Maxey. He just wants him to play his game and be who he is. The word "sacrifice" has been thrown around Philadelphia, but the big fella doesn't view it that way.
"Everybody has to be on the same page," Embiid started when asked about Maxey. "Everybody keeps talking about sacrificing, but I don’t really see it as sacrificing. Just being the best version of yourself and, I think when you put great players together, the standards you should have (for) yourself should be – whether it's be more efficient, because obviously you might get less touches, but you might get also more space. So what are you going to do with that space?"
To Embiid's point, the Sixers are going to have a ton of options on the offensive end. Whether it's himself, Maxey, James, Brown, or whoever, it's about getting everyone on the same page and Maxey has been working hard to do that.
"Whether it’s for him, for me, for everybody, starting lineup, guys coming off the bench, different roles. Roles don’t even matter," Embiid continued. "It’s just about making the right play for each other over and over and over and try to find a way to be – I think for me – more efficient than I’ve ever been. I think this is an opportunity for him, everyone, every one of us, to be more efficient than we’ve ever been in our lives, in our career, because with great players means teams might overhelp, they might have to make some decisions, and yeah, you’re going to get more space to do what you need to do."
Essentially, Embiid wants his teammates to excel in what the Sixers are asking of them, and Maxey will be an important piece of that. The 2023 MVP winner doesn't want to hear about sacrificing.
"Like I said, to me it’s not about sacrifice," he finished. "It’s just about being a star in your role and doing what you do best. I don’t think anybody should be put in a box. Just go out there, be yourself. Good shot, great shot, bad shot, we’ve all got each other’s backs. We move on."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Multiple Sixers praise Tyrese Maxey for his work in training camp
