As the 76ers prepare for a brand new season, fans have a lot to look forward to in the months to come. With Joel Embiid and James Harden, they have a solid core duo that can compete with the best of the best.
To top it all off, they also have young stud Tyrese Maxey, whose fast ascension has made him a vital member of the team. As a talented two-way star with an admirable work ethic, Maxey has become quite the popular face in Philadelphia.
This is one of the questions that tells me that our responders took this poll seriously. Tyrese Maxey’s overwhelming popularity among Sixers fans — 88.7 percent picked him as their favorite non-Embiid player for this poll — was evident even during his rookie season when he was a fringe role player being pulled in and out of the rotation. Like Embiid, he possesses an infectious personality to go with his game.
Paul Reed only receiving 1.2 percent of the vote is a bit surprising, though. People love them some BBall Paul.
Maxey isn’t on the level of Embiid or Haden, but he may be just as important. In 75 games last season, he averaged 17.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game on 48% shooting.
As a scorer, defender, and playmaker, he provides all the essentials on the court and makes an impact that can be felt in more ways than one.
Doc Rivers recently joined the Vince Carter show to speak on a variety of topics, including the Ben Simmons saga and the tampering allegations against the Philadelphia 76ers. Moreover, he also talked about Maxey, giving flowers to the player, even revealing that he works so hard that he doesn’t know how to take a rest.
“He’s the most impressive young player I’ve ever had in 21 years of coaching,” said Sixers coach Doc Rivers. “His work ethic is beyond belief… He called 2 weeks ago bc he went on a vacation… The first vacation he’d ever been on in his life… He asked what do you do in vacation.”
Clearly, Maxey is a big part of Philadelphia’s basketball future. No matter what happens with Harden and Embiid, Philly will be looking to Maxey to help lead the franchise’s next era.
It’s a good thing that he’s such a hard worker or else he might not have even been up for the grind.
