Tyrese Maxey was one of the catalysts who made sure that LeBron James landed with the 76ers in free agency this year. And while reports have suggested that it was the Jaylen Brown trade that convinced him, it also took a lot of team effort from the entire 76ers organization to bring James to Philadelphia.
Among them, the most relentless in his approach was reportedly Tyrese Maxey, who indicated that he would do anything to make sure LeBron James fits well on the roster. If that meant sacrificing a significant portion of his role, then so be it.
According to Chris Haynes, the NBA insider, Maxey tried to become the primary contact for James for anything related to the 76ers.
“I was told he was relentless in his pursuit of trying to convince and sway LeBron James that Philadelphia was his best shot and option. I was told he was making it clear he would do whatever it took, to sacrifice his game or anything else,” Haynes said in his recent appearance on The Association.
“There were a handful of suitors. You had the Miami Heat, you had the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Golden State Warriors,” Haynes added.
“I was told Tyrese was relentless. Tyrese [was] constantly calling and texting LeBron James, making sure that if he had any questions, he would be there to answer.”
“That made it easier for LeBron. It’s about the mixture of youth, veteran leadership in that locker room, but also a front office that won’t sit on their hands,” Haynes concluded.
There were multiple concerns that were raised about LeBron James’ fit on the 76ers as potentially the fourth option on scoring. One of the main concerns was who would be the primary playmaker and would heavily control the ball among four ball-dominant players.
The NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has said that he feels sorry for Maxey, who would have to fall in the ranks of the team to make this work now. But it turns out, it was Maxey who offered to sacrifice his role to allow a better playmaker in LeBron James to take his place.
James averaged 10.2 assists per game the last time he played in the point guard role regularly, and the Lakers won the 2019-20 NBA championship. Meanwhile, Maxey, in his best season, averaged only 6.6 assists per game (2025-26).
There is a rising expectation in the league that James will play like the point guard for most of the 2026-27 season. Maxey seems to have stepped aside to let LeBron James and potentially Jaylen Brown take over as the primary ball-handlers while Embiid and he work on their off-ball game.
Maxey, who considers James like an elder brother, has apparently understood that James is equally, if not more, desperate to make this work. There will be plenty of time in the future for the 25-year-old to think about himself in the future.
But for now, sacrifice remains the biggest buzzword that needs to resonate through the 76ers organization for this team to have any chance of converting into winning basketball.
