Tyrese Maxey Plays Like a Super Star in Double OT Win Over Spurs
The couple of months the Sixers were without Joel Embiid taught us a few things. One, that Embiid is literally the most valuable player in the league. But it also showed that as great as Tyrese Maxey is, he was maybe not quite ready to be the Super Star who carries a team on his own. His performance against the Spurs tonight might change people’s minds about that.
There was no Joel Embiid, no Kyle Lowry, and no Tobias Harris. That was no problem for Tyrese Maxey. His new career-high 52 points still carried the Sixers to a 133-126 win over the Spurs. A much-needed win as the team battles to get out of the play-in.
Tyrese Maxey Sets A New Career High
On a night when he faced off with one of the most exciting young superstars in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama, it was Tyrese Maxey whose light shined the brightest. Wemby was amazing tonight, but it is Maxey who stole the show and carried his team to the win.
We already mentioned the 54 points. 16 of those came in the 4th quarter as the Sixers erased a 7-point deficit. Including the last-second layup that sent the game to OT.
We knew when the Sixers drafted Maxey that they got a steal. I don’t think anyone knew just how true that is though. It might be too early to put the Super Star label on him. But we saw tonight that is his ceiling.
What he did tonight was something special. Not just because it gets the Sixers 1 step closer to the 6 seed. But because it shows Maxey might be the perfect running mate for Joel Embiid. Maxey was unstoppable. He got to the rim with ease. Wemby might be the Defensive Player Of The Year. He protects the paint better than anyone, even as a rookie. But even he had no answer for Maxey’s superhero-like ability to drive to the rim.
Don’t Forget About The Rest Of The Team
Tyrese Maxey was the star of the night. But a few other guys deserve major props too. Nico Batum played out of his mind. 9 points in 46 minutes might not jump out of the stat sheet. But it was his beautiful in-bounds pass that helped send the game to OT. And he had some key defensive plays that kept them in the game.
Then there was Kelly Oubre, who gave them 26 points on 22 shots. And Ricky Council gave them some amazing minutes off the bench. Including this amazing pass in the 2nd OT period. it set up a Batum 3 that pretty much sealed the win.
This team has the pieces. It is perhaps the best unit Embiid has had around him since the Jimmy Butler season. We are still waiting for DeAnthony Melton to make his return too.
If we get this Tyrese Maxey, and the rest of the team plays like this, don’t count the Sixers out of any series. We saw tonight Tyrese Maxey might be ready to take the next step.
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A Cup of Coffee: 10 Philadelphia Sixers Players Better Known With Other Teams
Nikola Vucevic
Vucevic has had a nice career between the Magic and Bulls. But he started out as a rookie that Doug Collins refused to give too many minutes to. The next offseason after being drafted, he was part of the now infamous deal for Andrew Bynum. He went on to make two All-Star games. Bynum never played a minute for the Sixers.
Kwame Brown
One of the most famous NBA busts had a cup of coffee with the Sixers. The Warriors sent him to the Bucks as part of the Andrew Bogut trade. The Bucks cut him soon after though. He signed a 2-year deal with the Sixers, but played in only 22 games and was cut before the second season of his contract. He nearly had as many personal fouls (37) as he did points (41) while with the Sixers. It was the last chance in the NBA he ever got.
Glenn Robinson
The Sixers tried so hard to find the second scoring option behind Allen Iverson. One of the guys they tried, was Glenn Robinson. He was very good with the Bucks, usually averaging over 20 points per game. He was not bad with the Sixers, but he was not that same guy. He played just 42 games here and averaged 16 points per game. He was injured for his entire 2nd season here and then got traded.
JaVale McGee
McGee is perhaps best known for his frequent appearances on Shaqtin a Fool. Its gave him a bit of an unfair repuation. Did he make some bone headed plays in his career? Yes. But he was also a 3-time champion, an Olympic Gold Medalist, and a physical presence on defense.
His time with the Sixers was know memorable at all though. The Nuggets shipped him here, along with a first round pick, and the rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum, as a pure salary dump. He played just 6 games here.
Toni Kucoc
Kucoc won 3 NBA Finals with the Bulls, was 6th Man of The Year in the 1995-1995 season, and won pretty much every award you can as a Basketball player when over in Europe. He was a significant piece of the Bulls second run of 3 straight championships. But he did not get much time with the Sixers.
He was decent in the 1999 -2000 season, averaging 12 points per game. But the next season he was part of the trade that landed the Sixers Dikembe Motumbo. In the end, he played in only 80 total games here, averaging a little over 8 points per game.
Dwight Howard
Obviously we don’t forget he played here. It is too recent. But he will be one of those guys where we look back one day and go “Oh yea, he did play here.”. Howard was probably one of the best backups for Embiid. He only lasted one year here. And like so many backup bigs before him, he disappeared in the playoff.
Chris Webber
Not sure if anyone forgets his time here, so maybe it doesn’t quite fit the brief. But Webber is a superstar, who had a disappointing cup of coffee in Philly. Webber was supposed to come here and finally be the guy to be AI’s Co-Star. It never quite worked out. He was injured for parts of his first season, had a decent first full season here, but then was benched in year 3.
