Sixer guard Tyrese Maxey spoke to HoopsHype exclusively at New Balance's 2026 Beantown Elite Experience, where his debut signature shoe, the Maxey v1, was handed out to every camper in attendance ahead of its October 2, 2026 release.
Maxey discussed what it means to have his name on a shoe, who's taking the last shot on the Sixers' loaded roster, sharing a locker room full of MVPs and gold medalists and more.
What parts of the game did you use as motivation to prove something?
Tyrese Maxey: I think the biggest things that I wanted to prove was my leadership, my playmaking abilities, and my defense. I think I'm good defensively and I can cause a lot of havoc, make a lot of disruptions. I'm able to block shots, get steals, and do those type of things, and hold my own one-on-one. And then just my leadership qualities.
I've been trying to become a better leader every single day, try to encourage my teammates, and then playmaking, getting into the paint. I've done a really good job of drawing a lot of attention these last couple years, and now it's just about getting to the paint, creating plays for everybody, creating shots for everybody.
Was there a moment where you were like, 'OK, I could really become one of the best players in the league'?
TM: Well, my rookie year, my 10th game, we played the Nuggets and I started for the first time and I had 39 points. So I was like, "Hmm, maybe I could do something special in this league." And I just kept growing and growing and growing and the moments got bigger and bigger and bigger, and I just really believed in myself. I put a lot of work in to get to where I am today and I'm still trying to get better and better.
All of that goes into confidence, right? Mentoring these young kids who maybe don't understand what it means to have that confidence. How do you teach confidence to young kids who haven't experienced it yet?
TM: Confidence is key. Having confidence is extremely important. It's extremely important, because if you don't believe in yourself, it's going to be extremely hard to perform at the highest level. You have to have that confidence in yourself. And as a basketball player, the ball is not always going to go through the net. But you've got to be confident enough to take that next shot. Like Michael Jordan said, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take. So if you work on it, then you should be as confident as possible.
What do you say to VJ Edgecombe after he called you out for lying about knowing beforehand of the LeBron-Sixers signing?
TM: [Laughs] I had to say I love you so much and I'll talk to you probably later on today. So just know that I love you, kid. And sometimes what you don't know won't hurt you. [Laughs]
Do you feel added pressure now with the moves you guys made?
TM: I work really, really, really, really, really, really hard, so I don't really have that type of pressure, you know what I'm saying? The pressure that I put, I put on myself because I work extremely hard and I do these different things to try to make myself better every single day. But outside noise, it doesn't really bother me.
Have the Sixers settled on a pecking order for last-shot situations?
TM: I think it depends on what the situation is, you know what I'm saying? I think we have confidence in a lot of different guys. I think people want to say VJ is our fifth option, but last year he took a lot of shots in the clutch. He made a lot of shots in the clutch. There was a couple times, where I got doubled and Joel [Embiid] got doubled and we had to kick it out to VJ [Edgecombe] and he had to make a shot. It's going to be different people. We're going to see how it goes and see how it flows.
I think the biggest thing is we can't have anybody, nobody on this team can have an ego. We have two guys that have won regular-season MVPs, two guys that have won Finals MVPs, multiple gold medal winners on this team, multiple 25-plus points per game, All-Stars, All-NBA. We're all pretty accomplished. So the ego has to drop and you have to do it collectively.
You've talked in the past about having to sacrifice your touches on this team. What specific area do you hope to improve despite potentially fewer touches?
TM: I think the biggest thing that I hope to improve on is just staying consistent, staying in the flow of the game. And then my playmaking as well, creating for others. I've been trying to do that more and more as the seasons have gone by, but now I can do that at an even higher level, I feel like. And then driving to the paint, these guys all pose a threat, they all cause tension just like me, so it should be very fun.
What was the biggest lesson you learned from the season before last?
TM: The biggest thing I learned was patience. I mean, I got hurt like three times that year, I think, and it wasn't like real bad injuries, but it was little nagging injuries that they didn't want me to play through because it would just make it worse and worse and worse. And I'm somebody who just loves playing basketball, so I had to be patient. I had to kind of sit out some of those times where I wish I could have played, but I probably shouldn't play. The medical staff had the best interest for me. And then just patience, and just mentally, when you lose. That was my first time losing like that in my life, you know, consecutive games in a row in a row in a row. I just made a vow to myself that it wouldn't happen to me again.
What do you consider the most underrated part of your game?
TM: Underrated part of my game is my shooting. My shooting, my catch-and-shoot, three-point shooting, that's probably one of the most underrated parts of my game. Then my defense. Competitive at the other end. I get stops. I'm very good at getting steals and getting blocks and different things like that. So that's probably another thing that I feel like is underrated.
How do you feel about joining the New Balance family?
TM: It feels great. It's amazing to be a part of the New Balance family. I'm very appreciative. I'm very thankful. It's a dream come true to have a partner like this who believes in you, and you believe in it. So it's really cool.
What were your initial thoughts on your first signature shoe, the Maxey v1?
TM: Yeah, I think my initial thought was just like, wow. I was surprised, I was thankful. For me, it's a blessing. It's a dream come true, you know, to have a shoe with your name on it, and people can buy it, people can purchase it, people can wear it, people can support it. I'm very thankful for it.
What was your first sneaker moment growing up in Dallas?
TM: That's a great question. I think the very first sneaker moment that I can think of off the top of my head was being able to sport the Kyrie 1s. I wore those in school, I wore those in the game, I wore those in a lot of different places, and it was just like, those were monumental to me. Kyrie was one of my favorite players.
Back then, as a kid, getting those packages, all your friends coming over asking, "You got the Kyries?" How did you get that?
TM: Playing basketball, you know what I'm saying? Through our camps and different things like that, they kind of bless you, like I was able to do today. And that was really cool. They blessed me with shoes and I was able to go back to school and wear them. And people were like, "Man, that's really cool."
What do you experience when you see kids at this event?
TM: It means a lot, man. It means a lot for me to see them in the environment. It means a lot for me to see them, me being able to pass out my shoes and they immediately put them on and wear them and they like them. That means a lot to me, because you can wear whatever shoe you want to wear, but for someone to choose to wear your shoe, that means a lot.
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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Tyrese Maxey Q&A: 'Nobody on this team can have an ego'
