PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey usually gifts his milestone basketballs and other valuable career keepsakes to his mother.
Denyse Maxey might have a tough time taking possession of her son’s latest game ball.
For starters, Tyrese Maxey clutched the basketball from the moment he walked off the court of the 76ers’ latest win all the way through the postgame news conference and back into the locker room. Like an elite guard, Maxey seemed in no hurry to cough
up the ball.
Also, Mom didn’t show up Thursday night to get the ball.
“She wasn’t here tonight,” Maxey said, laughing.
He then tapped the mic for added effect: “Mom, that’s crazy that you didn’t come to my game.”
Had Maxey's mother been among the sellout crowd of 19,746 fans at the 76ers' win over Miami, she would have witnessed a little slice of history.
For a franchise that boasts 10 retired numbers, Maxey stands alone at No. 1 on the team's career 3-point list. The 25-year-old Maxey was serenaded with “MVP!” chants as he hit five 3s against the Heat to pass Allen Iverson (whose No. 3 is one of those retired numbers) and finish the game with a record 887 — and counting.
“AI is somebody who we've all looked up to, who I looked up to as a small guard,” Maxey said. “To be able to pass him in anything in basketball, that's cool.”
Maxey keeps racking up the milestones in his sixth season since the 76ers took him 21st overall out of Kentucky in the 2020 draft.
He was voted an All-Star starter for the first time, participated in the 3-point shooting contest and is averaging career highs in most major categories, including points-per-game (29.1). Playing for a franchise that made load management in vogue in the NBA, Maxey leads the league in minutes with 38.4 per game.
“A lot of it is just opportunity,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “A lot of it is confidence. A lot of it is the work he's put in. It's all those kind of rolled into one.”
Maxey was expected to be a spoke in the wheel when he was drafted.
The 76ers belonged to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and were supposed to for at least a decade. Until Simmons' career collapsed. Then the Sixers were tethered to Embiid and James Harden. Until Harden wanted out in an ugly professional divorce.
With his joyous attitude and fan friendliness that's made him one of Philadelphia’s most popular athletes, Maxey was there all along waiting for his chance to prove that, yes, he could be an elite franchise player. Maxey scored 50 points for the first time in November 2023; the same season he earned his first All-Star game nod and was named the NBA's most improved player.
“We know after the Harden thing went down, we had to put the ball in his hands a lot more,” Nurse said. “I think he’s still growing in that capacity, as well.”
The 76ers count themselves lucky to have Maxey, thanks to shrewd scouting and, well, thanks also in part to current Phoenix Suns assistant coach Mike Muscala.
Muscala hit a winning 3-pointer for Oklahoma City in a fairly meaningless game against Miami in 2020, the pandemic season. Per terms of a previous trade, the 76ers had the Thunder’s first-round pick unless it was in the top 20. But the Thunder’s win in the NBA bubble meant the Sixers earned possession of the first-round selection, which was pick No. 21.
“I remember (assistant) Sam Cassell and I had kind of fallen on Maxey," former 76ers coach Doc Rivers said. "But there were a couple of guys in front of him that hadn’t been drafted. And we were, like, in a silent panic. Somebody get these guys, somebody draft these guys. It all fell for us. It did. It really just fell right into our hands. It was nice.”
Consider, Maxey set the 3-point record against the Heat, who took Precious Achiuwa (already on his third team) with the 20th overall pick.
“You re-draft that, he’s at the very top somewhere, for sure,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
The 76ers sure aren't complaining about their luck in snagging Maxey.
Again, though, the Sixers tried to make Maxey just a piece of a Big Three ahead of the 2024 season when they signed Paul George to a four-year, $212 million free-agent contract. Maxey got paid, too, with a five-year, $204 million extension that gave the Sixers a high-priced, high-expectations road to a championship chase.
Like Simmons, like Harden, George was nowhere to be found for the Sixers on Thursday. He's in the midst of a 25-game suspension for violating the terms of the NBA’s anti-drug program.
As always, Maxey showed up.
He scored 28 points, added 11 assists and helped the Sixers stretch their lead over the Heat to 2 1/2 games for the sixth spot — the one that keeps them out of the play-in tournament — in the Eastern Conference.
“We need some signature home wins, man,” Maxey said.
The 76ers got one — and another signature moment from Maxey.
For comparison, Maxey has 887 3s on 2,336 attempts (38%) in 375 career games. Iverson was 885 of 2,864 (31%) over 722 career games with the 76ers.
There's one more way Maxey would like to pass Iverson. Championships. Iverson never won one while Maxey is looking for his first.
Maxey believes the nucleus is set to win one in Philly — and he'll likely be the one to lead them.
“I know I have a coach and organization who believe in me and teammates who believe in me,” Maxey said. “And when you have that it kind of pushes you to be even better than who you are.”
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