Tyrese Maxey

Tyrese Kendrid Maxey (born November 4, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Born in Dallas, Texas, Maxey was inspired to play basketball by his favorite childhood player, Dwyane Wade. He was a shooting guard for South Garland High School, helping the team to their first ever Texas state high school basketball tournament appearance in 2018. A five-star recruit as early as his sophomore year of high school, Maxey contemplated leaving high school early to play for Kentucky, but ultimately stayed at South Garland, where he was a McDonald's All-American and Texas Mr. Basketball during his senior year. He then played for the Wildcats, where he set a school record of 26 points in his collegiate debut.

After Maxey's freshman season at Kentucky was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, he elected to enter the 2020 NBA draft, where the 76ers selected him 21st overall with their first-round pick. Maxey received limited playing time during his rookie season, making his first NBA start in a game where the 76ers could only field the league's minimum number of players. The following season, however, Ben Simmons's refusal to play for Philadelphia gave Maxey an opportunity to become the team's starting point guard.

Early life and high school career

Maxey was born on November 4, 2000, in Dallas, Texas, to Denyse and Tyrone Maxey. His father had been a college basketball player for the Washington State Cougars under head coach Kelvin Sampson before turning to coaching himself. Maxey's favorite childhood basketball player was Dwyane Wade, and when he told his father that he wanted to be like Wade, Tyrone created a training regimen for his son inspired by his video analysis of NBA players Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving. In sixth grade, Maxey won a national championship with his Amateur Athletic Association (AAU) team. He had previously broken his pinky finger during the AAU city championship in Garland, Texas, but chose to complete the game by only dribbling with his non-injured hand.

At South Garland High School, Maxey was a shooting guard for the Colonels basketball team. During his sophomore year, he averaged 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. The following season, Maxey averaged 22.5 points, 7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.3 steals per game, and South Garland made its first ever Texas state basketball tournament appearance. He scored 46 points in the state championship semifinals, but the team nevertheless lost to Obra D. Tompkins High School in overtime. He contemplated leaving high school early after the 2018 season in order to enter the NBA sooner, but ultimately decided to finish his four-year South Garland career in the hopes of becoming a McDonald's All-American. He finished his high school basketball career averaging 21.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game as a senior. In addition to graduating at the top of his class, Maxey was named First-Team All-Area, a McDonald's All-American, and was crowned Texas Mr. Basketball. South Garland reached the 2019 Texas 6A Region II tournament finals, where despite 25 points from Maxey, they lost 64–53 to Klein Forest High School.

Recruiting

Maxey was considered a five-star recruit as early as his sophomore year of high school, at the end of which Rivals.com ranked him No. 14 in the country among high school basketball prospects. By his senior year, he was ranked 10th overall by Rivals.com and 247Sports, and 13th overall by ESPN. He entertained offers from a number of college basketball programs, including Michigan State, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Southern Methodist University, but made an oral commitment to the University of Kentucky in May 2018, just before his senior year of high school. Maxey signed a National Letter of Intent with Kentucky that November.

College career

Maxey made his college debut at Madison Square Garden for Kentucky's Champions Classic win over the Michigan State Spartans. Playing the day after his 19th birthday, Maxey came off the bench to score 26 points, a school record for a freshman debut, in the Wildcats' 69–62 victory. This outing was followed by a cold streak during which he only went 3-for-15 on three pointers across four games. The stretch was broken on November 23, when he scored 21 points, including four three-pointers, in an 81–56 rout of the Lamar Cardinals. After scoring 27 points and recording seven rebounds in a 78–70 overtime win over the Louisville Cardinals on December 28, Maxey was named the NCAA Division I National Player of the Week, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Week, and the United States Basketball Writers Association Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Week.

On February 29, 2020, Kentucky clinched the SEC regular season championship with a 73–66 victory over the Auburn Tigers, during which Maxey scored 17 points. In clinching the regular season title, the Wildcats were meant to enter the 2020 SEC men's basketball tournament as the number one seed, but two weeks later, both the SEC Tournament and the 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament were canceled due to concerns over the emergent COVID-19 pandemic, bringing a premature end to Maxey's freshman season. Appearing in 31 games for Kentucky, including 28 starts, Maxey averaged 14 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game while leading the team with 34.5 minutes per contest. At the end of the season, he was named to both the All-SEC Second Team and the SEC All-Freshman Team. On April 6, 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 pause, Maxey declared for the 2020 NBA draft.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2020–present)

2020–21 season: Rookie season

Originally anticipated to be a lottery pick, Maxey remained available late in the first round of the 2020 NBA draft. Instead, he was selected 21st overall by the Philadelphia 76ers, in one of the first decisions that Daryl Morey made as the team's president of basketball operations. Maxey signed his rookie scale contract with the team on December 3, 2020. After collecting 8 and 11 points with limited minutes during two preseason games, head coach Doc Rivers decided that Maxey would be "one of our main bench guys" going into the season. He made his NBA debut on December 23, the first game of the season, and recorded six points on a 3-for-6 shooting rate, two assists, and two rebounds in eleven minutes of the 76ers' game against the Washington Wizards.

With injuries to stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and a number of positive COVID-19 tests on the team, the 76ers were only able to field the league-minimum eight players for their January 9 game against the Denver Nuggets. The depleted roster allowed Maxey to make his first NBA start. Although the Nuggets won the game 115–103, Maxey had a strong performance with 39 points in 44 minutes on 18-of-33 shooting. He scored the most points of any rookie in his first career start since 1970, as well as the most points by any 76ers rookie since Allen Iverson scored 40 points against the Washington Bullets in 1997. In 61 regular season games, including eight starts, Maxey averaged eight points per game with a 46 percent shooting rate and 30 percent three-point field goal percentage in 15 minutes per game. He did not start in any postseason games during the 2021 NBA playoffs but did make eight appearances, during which he averaged six points per game on a 44 percent shooting rate. The Atlanta Hawks defeated the 76ers in a seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal series, eliminating Philadelphia from the NBA postseason.

2021–22 season: Improving as a sophomore

Following the 76ers' playoff elimination, Maxey spent the 2021 offseason in the NBA Summer League to continue his development. When Ben Simmons refused to play for the 76ers at the start of the season, Maxey and Shake Milton platooned the starting point guard position. After averaging 16.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 35.6 minutes through the first 51 games of the season, Maxey was named to the 2022 NBA Rising Stars Challenge as a member of Team Worthy. At the NBA trade deadline, the 76ers acquired James Harden in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, a movement that had an immediate positive impact for Maxey. The acquisition of point guard Harden allowed Maxey to return to his natural shooting guard position, which afforded him more shooting opportunities, and he averaged 24.5 points in his first two games after Harden's arrival. He scored 25 points in the 76ers' regular-season finale against the Detroit Pistons, finishing his sophomore season with 17.5 points per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the field, and 42.7 percent from three-point range.

The 76ers faced the Toronto Raptors in the opening round of the 2022 NBA playoffs. Maxey had a breakout performance in the first game of the series, scoring a postseason career-high 38 points in the 131–111 Philadelphia victory. In doing so, he became the youngest Philadelphia player to score 30 or more points in a postseason game. The 76ers defeated the Raptors in six games, with Maxey averaging 21.3 points per game while shooting 51.1 percent shooting from the field and 40.5 percent from three-point range. Philadelphia went on to face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Despite a 34-point performance from Maxey in Game 2, the 76ers lost 119–103, and they ultimately lost the series in six games. Maxey finished the series as the 76ers' leading scorer, with 20.2 points per game to go with a 45.6 percent shooting and 34.4 percent three-point shooting.

2022–23 season

On October 28, 2022, Maxey put up a career-high 44 points on 15-of-20 shooting from the field, including nine of his 12 attempts from three-point range in an 112–90 win over the Toronto Raptors. He also joined Hal Greer and Allen Iverson as the only Sixers players to score at least 40 points in a game before the age of 23. He also tied Danny Green and Dana Barros for the most three-pointers made in a game in Sixers history with nine.

National team career

During his high school career, Maxey was named to the United States men's national under-19 basketball team

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