Tyrese Martin was in the crowd of Allentown’s new PPL Center in October 2014, when the 76ers played a preseason game in the city for the first time in 40 years. The teenage Martin even got a photo with K.J. McDaniels, then a Sixers rookie.
Fast forward more than a decade, and Martin on Thursday morning stood in a back hallway of Xfinity Mobile Arena following his first shootaround as a Sixer.
Martin was inactive for Thursday’s 117-107 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, with coach Nick Nurse noting that the coaching staff “obviously [has not] seen hardly any of him yet.” Terry, who signed his deal just before the All-Star break, also did not play.
Payne, however, immediately got back on the floor. Though he missed all three shot attempts, the 31-year-old totaled five of the Sixers’ 17 assists in less than 10 minutes.
“I’m figuring them out,” Payne said of his new teammates. “… I feel like we played fast when I was here [for the end of the 2023-24 season], but they play a lot faster now.”
Nurse said before Thursday’s loss that he also views Martin primarily as a point guard. He averaged 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 37 games with the Brooklyn Nets, then was released to free up roster spots at the trade deadline.
Before a November game against the Sixers, Nets coach Jordi Fernandez described Martin as a “grown up” and “rock star” inside Brooklyn’s deep rebuild and was a player to whom coaches could direct young teammates and say, “Look how he does it.” Nurse on Thursday also commended Martin’s basketball IQ, along with his 6-foot-6, 215-pound frame.
Yet on a Sixers team vying for playoff positioning — their 30-25 record is sixth in the Eastern Conference entering Friday — Martin most believes he can make an immediate impact as a defender who can pressure the ball and pick up 94 feet.
“Just play tough,” Martin said. “I think that’s where I can find myself fitting in real fast on this team.”
Martin’s opportunity became possible once the Sixers signed Walker to a standard contract on Thursday. After Walker could not play in the Sixers’ previous four matchups because he had exhausted his 50 active NBA games allowed on a two-way deal, he acknowledged “worrying a little bit” about his future while spending time with loved ones during the All-Star break.
But while Walker was sidelined, Nurse recognized that the Sixers “really need” the 6-foot-8, 235-pounder’s physicality as a rebounder and interior defender. Walker totaled four points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal — including a second-half highlight sequence when he hit a three-pointer, then corralled a steal and lofted an alley-oop pass to Adem Bona — in 10 minutes, 16 seconds of his return game against Atlanta.
Barlow, meanwhile, remained in the starting lineup with Paul George still suspended for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. Nurse was pleased both players had their contracts converted this month because “they just earned it, and they deserved it.”
“Young, hungry, playing-hard guys that I think we can have in our organization,” Nurse said. “We want [players like that]. I’m glad those guys got rewarded — both of them.”
Those contract conversions — plus other recent examples, such as Justin Edwards last season and Ricky Council IV in 2024 — demonstrate that the Sixers will use two-way players who provide value. Martin appreciates such evidence of opportunity. He took the floor for an early pregame on-court session Thursday and said he is working to quickly learn staffers’ names.
Nurse is unsure when Martin could see game action, with the Sixers entering a stretch of three road matchups in four nights. Yet Martin’s addition could complete the Sixers’ post-trade deadline roster, and it allowed him to join the NBA team closest to his hometown.
“We’ll get into what my path and my thing is for the rest of the season going forward,” Martin said. “But right now, I’ll just do what I’ve done when I was in this situation before and bet on myself.”
Cameron Payne was in the middle of Sunday’s game with Serbian team KK Partizan, when his agent, Jason Glushon, shared that a rest-of-season contract with the 76ers was in the works.
“You might want to pack,” Glushon told his client.
The veteran guard was at Sixers practice by Wednesday afternoon, working with new (and old) teammates and reviewing film with assistant coach Matt Brase. Payne, who played for the Sixers for part of the 2023-24 season, adds depth to a guard group that lost Jared McCain and Eric Gordon at the trade deadline. And though Payne said another NBA comeback was not his overwhelming goal, he is pleased to rejoin a familiar team that exits the All-Star break with a 30-24 record and in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
“Obviously, I wanted to get back,” Payne said following Wednesday’s practice. “But all my focus was there [with Partizan]. I feel like, sometimes, when your focus is in the right place, things like this happen.
“I was really locked in there, and me playing there got the looks to come back here.”
Payne was a trade-deadline pickup in February of 2024, averaging 9.3 points and 3.1 assists in 19.4 minutes across 31 regular-season games. The 31-year-old is a high-energy guard whom All-Star teammate Tyrese Maxey has seen “change games, honestly,” such as when he provided an 11-point burst on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc in the Sixers’ Game 3 playoff victory over the New York Knicks two seasons ago.
Payne then played for the Knicks last season, averaging 6.9 points and 2.8 assists in 15.1 minutes in 72 games before entering free agency. He spent the preseason with the Indiana Pacers before being released, then had a workout with the Phoenix Suns (where he played for parts of four seasons, from 2020-23) that did not result in a contract.
Cameron Payne averaging 6.9 points and 2.8 assists in 15.1 minutes in 72 games with the Knicks last season.
When Partizan circled back with an offer, Payne jumped at the opportunity.
“Man, I’m tired of sitting down,” he said to himself. “Yeah, let’s play some basketball.”
Payne called the fan environment for the Belgrade-based club “lit,” complete with arenas packed “wall-to-wall” and lit flares causing smoke to hover over the court. He also appreciated that he was trusted to run Partizan’s offense, “like they’re counting on you, for real.” He averaged 11.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals in 15 games.
Payne believes he can carry that same “ownership” to the Sixers’ second unit, which has sputtered throughout this season.
He will be asked to push the pace, play in the pick-and-roll, and shoot three-pointers. Perhaps more importantly, Payne is expected to give the occasional blow to Maxey, who leads the NBA in minutes per game (38.6), and VJ Edgecombe, who ranks in the league’s top 10 in that category (35.4) while already playing in more games than he did at Baylor. Sixers coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday that Payne can “eat into” those players’ stints and also log “superhuge minutes” in specific scenarios, such as back-to-backs or blowouts.
Cameron Payne returns to the Sixers after previously playing for the team during the 2023-24 season.
“We can almost throw him in there to take over for certain games,” Nurse said. “He’s capable of doing that.”
To get from Serbia to Philly by the time the Sixers officially reconvened from the All-Star break, Payne first took an early-morning flight Tuesday that connected through Amsterdam. He arrived at the team’s Camden facility around 3:30 p.m. for his physical. He acknowledged Wednesday that he is still adjusting to the time difference and has not slept much.
Still, Nurse said Payne looked in-rhythm during Wednesday’s practice, that “you forget how fast he is.” Payne started to learn new teammates’ tendencies, such as Trendon Watford can initiate the offense as a point forward and that he can “throw it up” to athletic center Adem Bona. With Brase, he went through “a little package” of plays that he could successfully execute should he be called upon to play in Thursday’s home matchup against the Atlanta Hawks.
And during a phone call Wednesday morning with Glushon, Payne turned reflective about his return to the Sixers.
“I don’t know how I keep finding a way to get back,” Payne said. “But I guess the NBA’s still watching. And if you still take your game seriously and do the right things, play the right way, they’re still looking.”
Joel Embiid will miss the 76ers’ game on Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks with right shin soreness, the team announced Wednesday evening.
Embiid, the 2022-23 NBA MVP, reported the soreness while participating in a right knee injury management program during the All-Star break, the team said. Following a consultation with doctors, the team added, Embiid has received daily treatment while progressing through on-court work and strength and conditioning. He will be reevaluated before the Sixers play back-to-back road games Saturday at the New Orleans Pelicans and Sunday at the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Before this shin issue, Embiid had missed the Sixers’ last two games leading up to the break to manage that right knee.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse said Embiid participated in “a little bit” of the Sixers’ Wednesday practice and was scheduled to meet with team doctors later that afternoon.
“He looked pretty good,” Nurse said of Embiid.
Before those unscheduled absences last week, Embiid was in the middle of a dominant stretch. He averaged 33.1 points on 52.9% shooting, along with 8.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists, in his last 10 games, putting him in the conversation to be named an All-Star reserve. Overall this season, he’s averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in 31 games.
Embiid’s left knee, not his right, is the one that has undergone multiple surgeries in recent years.
LOS ANGELES — VJ Edgecombe did not want to waste Tyrese Maxey’s time once he took his courtside seat for the Rising Stars event at NBA All-Star Weekend.
And Maxey wanted Edgecombe to answer his simple question.
“I said, ‘Listen, what you going to do? You going for MVP or not?’” Maxey recalled. “He said he was going to go for it, and that’s what he did. That’s just who VJ is. He plays every single game the same way.”
The 76ers guards were in sync during their time together in Los Angeles, mirroring how they have instantly become an electric duo during their first 54 games as NBA teammates. Their presence at All-Star Weekend — Maxey as a contender to wind up on MVP ballots, Edgecombe as one of the league’s top rookies — was warranted. Edgecombe winning MVP of the Rising Stars event, before Maxey helped spearhead Sunday’s championship-winning Team Stars, made the weekend a success.
Now, the two Sixers who both rank in the league’s top 10 in minutes logged must recharge for the regular season’s stretch run. The Sixers sit sixth in a competitive middle of the Eastern Conference. And with Paul George still serving a 25-game suspension and Joel Embiid’s health still a wild card — the former MVP center missed the final two games before the break with knee soreness — Maxey and Edgecombe are going to continue leading the charge.
Before the NBA season resumes, here are some other Philly basketball-related nuggets from All-Star Weekend.
Carter pegged Edgecombe as Rising Stars ‘closer’
Edgecombe may now have a new mentor in Hall of Famer Vince Carter, his fiery coach during the Rising Stars tournament.
Carter said Saturday morning that he already “[gravitates] to young talent that wants to be great, that’s willing to listen, that wants to learn. Because I was that guy.” And Kyle Lowry, a friend of Carter’s and Edgecombe’s teammate, had already requested that Carter spend additional time with the Sixers rookie. Yet Carter had an inkling that Edgecombe initially thought his motivational tactics were “just talk” — until that carried from conversations, to the practice court, to Friday’s games.
“Now that I think that he knows me, I mean what I say,” Carter said. “ … I’m going to turn my volume up and I’m going to get on your ass a little bit, and he appreciated that.”
Team Vince guard VJ Edgecombe opens his arms before embracing Sixers teammate Tyrese Maxey.
So when Edgecombe scored 10 consecutive points — including the game-winning jumper — to secure their team’s first win of the night, it was no accident.
“Once it came down to [needing a] closer,” Carter said, “I pulled him aside and said, ‘This is what we’re going to do. I’m going to put you in position. Let’s go.’”
The ‘tanking’ debate
“Tanking” was the first topic addressed during NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s news conference, after the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers received fines of $500,000 and $100,000, respectively, for violating the player participation policy and “conduct detrimental to the league.” Both teams either rested or prematurely removed healthy key players to, presumably, increase their chances of losing the basketball game and improving their draft lottery odds.
“Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory? Yes, is my view,” Silver said Saturday afternoon. “Which was what led to those fines. And not just those fines, but to my statement that we’re going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams’ behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice.”
Maxey has a unique perspective on the tanking conundrum, following a 2024-25 Sixers season that began with championship aspirations but abruptly face-planted into an injury-riddled disaster.
During his All-Star media day news conference, Maxey reiterated how much last season taught him about mentally handling constant losing for the first time in his life. He was eventually shut down for the season with a finger injury, and other rotation players were held out of down-the-stretch games. The Sixers were also fined $100,000 during that period.
But Maxey also could not deny that “the outcome was VJ Edgecombe,” after the Sixers landed the No. 3 overall pick in a dramatic draft lottery. Edgecombe became an immediate starter and impact player on both ends of the floor while averaging 14.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Sixers guards Tyrese Maxey (left) and VJ Edgecombe are among the leaders in minutes played this season.
“He’s great, man,” Maxey said of Edgecombe. “Not just basketball-wise, but for our team personality-wise and culture-wise for our organization and things that we’re trying to turn around.”
The Sixers will play 10 of their final 28 games against opponents expected to be tanking, including two apiece against the Jazz and Pacers.
Brunson’s weekend a family affair
Jalen Brunson, the New York Knicks guard and former Villanova standout, has become an All-Star regular, earning a spot on the more veteran U.S. Team Stripes.
He was part of Kawhi Leonard’s monster 31-point outburst to beat Team World, understandably deploying the point-guard strategy of “feed him the ball, and get out of the way.” Brunson at one point in that game also got matched up against Knicks teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, which Brunson deadpanned meant, “No matter what shot I shot, the ball was going in.”
Yet Brunson’s highlight of the weekend was winning Saturday’s Shooting Stars contest alongside Towns and Knicks legend Allan Houston. Their designated passer for the event? Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father and a Knicks assistant coach.
“Spending time with my family in an atmosphere like this, in a place like this,” Brunson said, “it really means the world to me.”
After a run to the Eastern Conference finals last spring, the Knicks season has been up-and-down. When asked which team is the biggest threat to New York in the conference, Brunson said one can “obviously” point to the two teams currently ahead of them in the East standings: the second-place Boston Celtics and first-place Detroit Pistons.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson’s highlight of the weekend was spending time with family, including his father Rick Brunson, a Knicks assistant.
But Brunson also cautioned that “the East is better than what people think it is.”
“So you can’t really look ahead and you can’t really be focused on one or two teams,” Brunson said. “You have to prepare for everybody.”
Duren’s All-Star debut
Jalen Duren looked perfectly comfortable in the All-Star limelight, rocking sunglasses during Sunday’s postgame media session.
As a first-time All-Star, the Sharon Hill native and Roman Catholic product took in all the weekend’s extracurriculars — including “pictures, after pictures, after pictures, after pictures.” He also flashed what makes him an interior force for the East-leading Pistons, totaling six points and four rebounds in Team Stars’ dominant championship-game victory.
The 22-year-old Duren also found value in observing how his fellow All-Stars carried themselves through the weekend.
“Being part of this group of guys, you’ve got to walk with a certain type of pride and responsibility,” he said. “I think my perspective changed a little bit of how I approach the game and the rest of my career.”
VJ, meet Kareem
When asked about favorite parts of his first All-Star experience, Edgecombe enthusiastically mentioned the moment he wound up shaking hands with and sitting next to the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“That was fire,” Edgecombe said.
That reaction demonstrates the reverence Edgecombe has for the game’s history, a trait Sixers coach Nick Nurse has mentioned when speaking about the rookie’s beyond-his-years basketball IQ.
“Just [to] be in the same room as [Abdul-Jabbar] is a blessing,” Edgecombe said following the Rising Stars tournament. “Obviously, when we go on the floor, we try to honor everyone that came before us by playing hard, doing all the little things in the game. Grow it in the community off the floor. …
“Shout out to all the ‘OGs’ that came before me. Everyone. It’s all love from me.”
Jabari Walker and the 76ers have agreed to a two-year standard contract, a league source confirmed to The Inquirer Monday night.
The standard deal comes after Walker, a 6-foot-7 forward, exhausted his 50 active NBA games allowed while on a two-way contract. As a result, Walker was unable to play in the Sixers’ last four games before the All-Star break.
Before then, Walker had been in the Sixers’ rotation for the bulk of the season. He is averaging 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.1 minutes across 45 games and has been praised for his high-energy playing style.
Walker’s contract conversion comes on the heels of the Sixers agreeing to a rest-of-season deal with veteran guard Cameron Payne, who spent part of the 2023-24 season in Philly and had been playing in Serbia. The moves help shore up the Sixers’ roster following the trade deadline, when they dealt away 2024 first-round draft pick Jared McCain and veteran guard Eric Gordon. The prorated deals will also keep the Sixers under the luxury tax threshold.
The Sixers also converted starting forward Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract to a standard deal on Feb. 5. Dalen Terry and MarJon Beauchamp currently hold the Sixers’ other two-way slots.
Once Walker’s contract is converted, the Sixers intend to sign forward Tyrese Martin to the vacated two-way roster slot.
Martin, a 26-year-old Allentown native, last played for the Brooklyn Nets before being released to free up a roster spot at the trade deadline. The 6-6 Martin has averaged 7.2 points, three rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 113 career NBA games across three seasons.
LOS ANGELES — While strolling through the NBA Crossover fan extravaganza inside the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday afternoon, a young man wearing a Cooper Flagg Duke jersey suddenly realized the NBA player with whom he had randomly crossed paths.
“That’s Tyrese Maxey!” the fan excitedly told his companion.
That moment illustrated how Maxey’s popularity has ballooned beyond Philly, where he has long been beloved while rapidly ascending into a 76ers cornerstone and two-time All-Star. Before stepping inside Intuit Dome on Sunday afternoon, Maxey had already received the fourth-highest total of All-Star fan votes and was named an Eastern Conference starter for this weekend’s main event. And that status as one of league’s up-and-coming faces was showcased throughout the celebratory weekend, culminating with Maxey’s nine points and three steals for the “young and turnt” Team Stars’ victory over Team Stripes in the championship game of a surprisingly competitive round-robin tournament.
“I feel a lot less out of place,” Maxey said when asked about how this weekend felt different from his first All-Star appearance in 2024. “[Two years ago, I] was nervous. It’s your first time. You don’t know when to talk, when not to talk. Now I walk into the locker room of my team, I was the second-oldest [at 25].
“I played against those guys growing up as kids, and it was really fun to be in the locker room.”
Maxey’s widespread prominence is perhaps unsurprising, given his combination of statistical production, playing style and personality.
His numbers place him in the MVP conversation, coming out of the All-Star break ranking sixth in the NBA in scoring (28.9 points per game) while adding 6.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.0 steals. He plays an aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball for diehards and casuals alike, as a speedy guard who explodes to the basket, launches from three-point range, and has become a legitimate defensive disruptor. And he regularly flashes a grin even in the heat of competition.
Tyrese Maxey participated in the three-point contest and made his second All-Star Game appearance.
The “That’s Tyrese Maxey” whispers — or exclamations — continued as he moved through the convention center on Friday. One fan who recognized him was wearing a LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers shirt. Another was in Boston Celtics green. Others waited in line to meet Maxey inside an Xfinity pop-up digital experience — where his face was displayed all over the exterior — or as he signed blue Sixers jerseys inside a DoorDash booth.
Back at the Intuit Dome, Maxey was on a parking garage billboard also featuring San Antonio Spurs global superstar Victor Wembanyama. And during Saturday’s media day, Maxey was assigned to a formal news conference room — which are typically reserved for the most in-demand players — instead of the mixed-zone scrums.
As Maxey walked into the standing-room-only crowd, he uttered, “Wow.”
“I don’t want to trip and fall,” Maxey said, walking across the stage, “and embarrass myself with all these people here.”
Maxey first noticed his popularity had extended beyond Sixers supporters around his fourth NBA season, when he was so stunned to see his jersey in places besides Philly and his hometown of Dallas that he called his mother, Denyse. (His jersey sales this season ranked 10th in the NBA as of last month, the league announced.) And when informed last month that he had received more All-Star fan votes than any American player — yes, even topping all-time greats James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant — he was taken aback.
“Oh, thanks fellow Americans!” Maxey said, leaning back in his locker-room chair. “Appreciate y’all, man. That’s love.”
It is all quite the rise since Maxey trained in Los Angeles in preparation for the 2020 NBA draft, when the Sixers took him 21st overall.
Tyrese Maxey has come a long way from the surprising rookie who burst onto the scene in 2020.
He seized the opportunity when thrust into the starting point guard job during Ben Simmons’ 2021-22 holdout. He won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award in 2023, then became a first-time All-Star the following season. He thrived as former MVP Joel Embiid’s two-man partner. He further boosted himself on a big stage with a masterful 46-point performance at Madison Square Garden in Game 5 of the Sixers’ 2024 first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks.
As an All-Star newbie in 2024, Maxey appreciated getting to know players from other teams in a laid-back environment. This year, he felt a sense of familiarity with Team Stars, which was also made up of All-Star MVP Anthony Edwards along with Scottie Barnes, Devin Booker, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Johnson. He sat courtside as Sixers teammate VJ Edgecombe won Rising Stars MVP on Friday night, then participated in Saturday’s three-point contest for the first time.
When Holmgren, a first-time All-Star, asked Maxey for advice on what to expect Sunday, he compared it to the McDonald’s High School All American Game.
“You don’t want nobody to have bragging rights on you,” Maxey said. “That’s how I feel about it.”
Maxey finished Team Stars’ overtime victory over Team World with four points, three rebounds, and two assists — and a tone-setting hustle play when he saved a ball from going out of bounds by throwing it backward over his head. He added two points in his team’s loss in its first matchup against Team Stripes, which also came down to the last shot.
In the championship rematch, Maxey took Durant off the dribble for a layup, then stole the inbounds pass and buried a three-pointer. Later, he blew past James for another finish and collected a steal and a dish to Barnes for a breakaway dunk.
“I want to play it like a real game, anyway,” Maxey said. “It’s better for me.”
Tyrese Maxey is one of the game’s most popular young American stars.
Maxey arrived for his postgame media session carrying a fancy box holding his All-Star ring which, when opened, also played a video of his highlights. He was ready to get some rest during the next few days before the regular-season’s stretch run for a Sixers team in sixth place in the East standings.
But this weekend, he lived up to his status as a leader of the NBA’s “young and turnt” American stars — and one of the up-and-coming faces of the league as a whole.
“I definitely think that we are ready to try to step it forward,” Maxey said. “We had a lot of guys in that locker room that are ready to take the next step.”
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Minutes after he left the Intuit Dome court Saturday afternoon, Tyrese Maxey rattled off everything he would do differently in the All-Star three-point contest.
The 76ers’ guard would start on the opposite corner, so he could take his “money ball” rack balls from his right side. He also would squeeze in at least one practice run, which he could not manage this past week between the Sixers’ return home from a five-game Western Conference road trip and another cross-country flight to Los Angeles.
Maxey’s 17 points were not enough to move on to the final, which the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard eventually won with a score of 29.
He joked that the fact that he “didn’t even get 20” points will haunt him for the next year. Still, competing in All-Star Saturday’s showcase event was gratifying for Maxey, who has transformed from a player whose three-point shooting was knocked coming out of college to one of the NBA’s most lethal from beyond the arc.
Will Scottie be hugging Tyrese again this year?@TyreseMaxey says no 😂
Don't miss Barnes & Maxey in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 5pm/et on NBC & Peacock 🌟 pic.twitter.com/qu5PjyCoIK
“I just wanted to see what it was going to be like my first time,” Maxey said. “I’ll definitely come back and try to win it, for sure.”
Maxey entered the All-Star break shooting 37.9% on 8.8 three-point attempts per game, which is tied for seventh in the NBA. He is proud of the variety of ways he now can get to that shot, by creating off the dribble or shaking free to catch and fire.
Yet Maxey was not always this feared from deep range. He shot 29.2% from three during his one season at Kentucky, leading to numerous questions from NBA front offices during the pre-draft process. Maxey’s father, Tyrone, recently recalled to The Inquirer a workout when Tyrese made 33 consecutive three-pointers and the unnamed NBA team “still passed on him.”
“Most [general managers] were like, ‘Man, you play the game with a joy, but you can’t shoot,’” Maxey said. “I’m like, ‘I can shoot.’”
Tyrese Maxey shoots during the three-point contest at the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities on Saturday.
The Sixers’ front office, meanwhile, believed in Maxey’s form and “secondary indicators” of NBA shooting success, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in 2021. Former coach Doc Rivers often shared publicly that he was regularly bamboozled that Maxey was accurate inside the Sixers’ practice facility, but made only 30.1% of his 1.7 attempts as a rookie.
However, confidence instilled by the coaching staff encouraged Maxey to launch more. The next two seasons, his percentages catapulted above 40%, while increasing that volume, as his overall offensive responsibilities blossomed.
His percentage dipped to 33.7% during the Sixers’ disastrous 2024-25, primarily due to an injured little finger that prematurely ended his season. His efficiency is back to normal this season, with the freedom from Sixers coach Nick Nurse to take even deeper shots — particularly while in transition.
This season, Tyrese Maxey has been unafraid to let loose on his three-ball.
When asked to partake in the All-Star three-point competition as a first-time All-Star two years ago, Maxey turned it down because he was “nervous” and wanted to soak in the full weekend of festivities. This year, it was a no-brainer.
He said he felt some jitters while being introduced at center court, then anxious while waiting for the five competitors’ trip around the arc before his.
“I wanted to shoot, man,” Maxey said, before a performance he described as “a little cold.”
Once eliminated, Maxey watched as Lillard and the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker put on a show in a scorching 29-27 final. An NBC television camera caught Maxey, hands on his head and mouth agape, as Booker’s potential tying final corner shot bounced off the rim.
Then Maxey praised Lillard, whom he noticed shooting deep three-pointers while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon when the Sixers visited Portland last week.
LOS ANGELES — As VJ Edgecombe stepped to the free-throw line with the opportunity to win the Rising Stars championship at All-Star Weekend, he felt “no pressure.”
The stakes, to be fair, were far lower than any NBA game Edgecombe has played in so far. Yet even in the ultimately meaningless environment, the 76ers rookie guard reiterated he “really hates losing.” So Edgecombe focused and sank both foul shots, then opened his arms wide to greet beaming Sixers teammate Tyrese Maxey sitting courtside.
Edgecombe’s game-winning free throws lifted his Team Vince to a 25-24 victory over Team Melo in the mini tournament final Friday night at Intuit Dome. That came on the heels of Edgecombe’s 17-point effort against Team T-Mac in the semis, including 10 in a row and the clinching step-back jumper to seal that win.
The two-game performance made Edgecombe a unanimous choice for the event’s MVP award, and spearheaded a group of youngsters who may have injected some competitiveness back into the recently maligned All-Star festivities.
Consider it the latest accomplishment in a terrific rookie season for Edgecombe, who has become an immediate starter and impact player on both ends of the floor for a Sixers team in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
“I just wanted to go out there and show everyone that I can hoop — regardless of stage,” Edgecombe said. “I just want to go out there and play basketball. I enjoy it. I enjoy playing basketball. I hope I showcased that tonight.”
Edgecombe foreshadowed his intentions earlier Friday. When asked at his media session if he would take a “laid-back” approach to the night’s tournament or as if he had “something to prove,” Edgecombe grinned and responded with, “still compete, so we’ll see how that goes.”
And how Friday night unfolded for Edgecombe, the former third overall draft pick, mirrored several of his games so far with the Sixers: He caught fire down the stretch.
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe brought the same competitive spirit to Team Vince that he does for the regular season.
A corner three-pointer got Edgecombe going in the semifinal matchup against Team T-Mac. He buried two more deep shots to put Team Vince up, 37-29, then converted a crafty finish and celebrated with his teammates on the bench. When he dribbled to his right and elevated for the mid-range shot to secure the 41-36 win — the first team to hit 40 points in each semifinal moved on — Edgecombe pointed at Maxey and then emphatically nodded at the camera while strutting down the court. He added five rebounds to the 6-for-8 shooting.
“My teammates were swinging the rock,” Edgecombe said. “My teammates were passing the ball, and I was open. … Then I was coming off the pick-and-roll, whatever it is, 1-on-1. Just go up there and try to get a bucket.”
In the abbreviated final against Team Melo — when 25 points was the “target score” — Edgecombe initially got free behind the defense for a transition dunk. Then he finished a putback that put his team up, 23-22, before drawing a foul on a drive to the basket to set up his championship-sealing free throws.
In between those buckets, Edgecombe also flashed his knack for smart basketball plays to complement his high-flying athleticism, while averaging 14.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.5 steals with the Sixers entering the All-Star break.
He corralled a one-handed rebound, and pushed the pace with his own speed and kick-ahead passes. He opened the semifinal game guarding the sharpshooting Kon Knueppel, another standout rookie.
Perhaps most fitting for the player who entered the break ranked 10th in the NBA in minutes (35.4 per game): When Edgecombe thought he was coming out of the final when coach Vince Carter made a couple substitutions, Carter playfully pushed Edgecombe back onto the court.
Edgecombe’s on-court showcase was one highlight of his first All-Star weekend.
He called getting to sit next to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar “fire,” another indicator of his deep knowledge of the NBA’s history. He chopped it up with Rising Stars coach Carmelo Anthony, father of his former teammate Kiyan Anthony, at the end of Friday morning’s practice. He got sucked into the whirlwind media circuit that ranged from a high-profile NBA TV interview, to an unserious rapid-fire guessing game to match a fellow Rising Star to the appropriate emoji.
“It’s a lot of attention,” Edgecombe said. “A lot of attention.”
But Edgecombe felt a responsibility to Carter, who drafted him first for this event and then encouraged their whole team, “Why not just play hard?” instead of floating through the night. Seeing Maxey courtside provided Edgecombe with a final motivational boost.
“He ain’t coming to watch it if I ain’t going to play hard,” Edgecombe thought to himself. “I didn’t want to waste his time.”
The full experience inspired Edgecombe to someday stay through the weekend to participate in Sunday’s All-Star game. But after his endless appearances bled into some actual — competitive! — basketball, Edgecombe acknowledged, “I’m tired, and I’m ready to go home now.”
He will leave Los Angeles with some MVP hardware, providing further evidence of the terrific start to his NBA career.
As the 76ers entered 2020 draft night, Doc Rivers and Sam Cassell had become enamored with Tyrese Maxey.
The two Sixers coaches at the time — both NBA points guards in a past life — sat together in a “silent panic” as the picks unfolded, hoping Maxey would continue slipping to No. 21.
“It really just fell right into our hands,” said Rivers, now head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.
That was the final piece that needed to align — amid some bizarre basketball and societal circumstances — for Maxey to become a Sixer.
Tyrese Maxey signed a four-year, $204 million extension with the Sixers in 2024.
The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 NCAA Tournament, swapping a potential final on-court showcase for Maxey with Kentucky for “working out for, like, [eight] months straight.” Several pre-draft interviews with teams were via videoconference, preventing decision-makers from witnessing Maxey’s work ethic and joyful demeanor in person and making that year’s overall talent evaluation an even more inexact science. And the only reason the Sixers had the 21st overall selection in the first place was because of a game-winning shot in the Orlando restart bubble by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Mike Muscala, which officially conveyed a traded top-20-protected draft pick to the Sixers.
“People will remember that number [21],” Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said when asked recently about Maxey. “Because if you redraft that draft, he’s at the very top somewhere, for sure.”
Now Maxey is an All-Star starter, living up to “The Franchise” nickname bestowed upon him by teammate Joel Embiid, a former MVP. The explosive guard entered Thursday ranked sixth in the NBA in scoring average (28.9 points), leading the league in minutes played (38.6), and adding 6.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 2 steals per game. He signed a five-year, $204 million max contract in the summer of 2024.
Does he ever think about the specific series of events needed for his Philly origin story to occur? Yes.
“I’m blessed,” Maxey told The Inquirer last month. “I really got lucky.”
Sixers guards VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey will travel together to All-Star Weekend to partake in the Rising Stars game and All-Star Game, respectively.
Maxey and his family were at the SEC Tournament in Nashville in March 2020 when the remainder of the college basketball season was canceled because of the pandemic’s onset.
Fueled by Maxey and fellow future NBA guard Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky was a threat to make a deep NCAA Tournament run. March Madness can become a prime stage for an NBA prospect’s draft stock to soar, and missing out left Maxey with a sour “What did you come to college for?” taste.
“I was like, ‘I’m ready to go home and be with my family,’” Maxey said. “My mom came and got me that night.”
Tyrese Maxey fell to the Sixers partly because he couldn’t workout or interview in front of NBA teams.
Maxey went back to his hometown of Garland, Texas, near Dallas and trained with his father, Tyrone, his longtime coach. After signing with Klutch Sports agency, Maxey then went to Los Angeles to work with personal trainer Chris Johnson.
When Maxey learned that Rajon Rondo, a standout NBA point guard and Johnson client, arrived at the gym at 5:30 a.m., Maxey told Johnson, “I’m there.” That daily workout fed into a weightlifting session with performance coach Al Reeser, who today accompanies Maxey with the Sixers. Maxey would return to the gym for a 10 a.m. shooting session with various players, including all-time great LeBron James, before a third workout at 12:30 p.m. With no guidance yet from an NBA team or system he would be stepping into, Maxey drilled all aspects of his game, including shooting touch, passing reads, and three-point accuracy.
Maxey has kept that early-morning routine ever since, believing it now gives him a psychological advantage over competitors.
“I knew then he had everything that it took for him to have a very promising career in the NBA,” Johnson told The Inquirer in 2021. “Whatever franchise was going to get him was going to get somebody that, No. 1, could be coached. No. 2, would be prepared. No. 3, not afraid of hard work — but not just regular hard work. We talk about elite training when your body [doesn’t] feel like it.
“I knew right away, ‘Oh, he’s going to be pretty special.’”
Then Maxey’s parents made him put on a polo shirt for video interviews with team executives, where he hoped his authenticity would pierce through the “kind of awkward” digital setting. Tyrone reminded his son to make sure he conveyed that he had been trained as a point guard, even though he played off the ball at Kentucky.
Tyrese Maxey played well at Kentucky but NBA teams believed he wasn’t a great shooter.
The most common feedback Maxey remembers receiving from teams back then was he “can’t shoot,” after he made 29.2% of his three-point attempts at Kentucky. He attempted to change that narrative during a workout with an unnamed team, when Tyrone said Tyrese made 33 consecutive three-pointers and “and they still passed on him” on draft night.
“He was proving he could shoot in front of this team,” said Tyrone, who will watch Maxey compete in the All-Star three-point contest on Saturday. “ … And it’s like, ‘Man, this is crazy.’”
One team Maxey believed had “no chance” to join? The Sixers.
He had “zero” contact with the organization before the draft. But that front office was studying him behind the scenes.
President of basketball operations Daryl Morey credits general manager Elton Brand and the scouting staff for doing the bulk of the evaluation on Maxey before Morey joined the organization from the Houston Rockets in November 2020.
Former Sixers coach Doc Rivers placed trust in Tyrese Maxey when Ben Simmons stepped away from the team. Tyrese Maxey is now an All-Star starter and the top American vote-getter in the All-Star Game.
Maxey’s quickness and finishing around the rim immediately stood out. Morey believed in Maxey’s perimeter shooting mechanics and “secondary indicators” of NBA potential, despite the low three-point percentage in college. Morey also picked up on the pride Maxey took in improving his defense, which has turned him into a legitimate disruptor on that end of the floor in his sixth NBA season.
Morey told The Inquirer in 2021 that Maxey was ranked around 10th on the Sixers’ big board entering the draft.
“A lot of his on-the-surface things didn’t pop at Kentucky,” Morey said, “which is why I think the scouts get a lot of credit on this one.”
Mike Muscala, a former player with the Sixers and Thunder, is now a Phoenix Suns assistant coach.
To even possess that pick, however, the Sixers needed two fortuitous 3-pointers at Disney World by Muscala, the former Sixer who at that time was a role player for the Thunder.
Those shots beat the Miami Heat in their second-to-last regular-season bubble game, which configured the standings so that the top-20-protected draft pick that Oklahoma City owed the Sixers would convey that year. Muscala told The Inquirer that, as Maxey began his NBA ascension about a year or two later, he began to catch wind from the most-tapped-in Sixers fans of the roundabout impact he had on the team landing its future All-Star.
“It is interesting when you start thinking about different dominoes that fall,” said Muscala, who is now an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns and said he does not know Maxey.
Tyrese Maxey’s energy and joy have endeared him to the city of Philadelphia.Tyrese Maxey has routinely made himself available for Sixers charity events.
“Big shot, thanks!” Maxey said when Muscala’s name resurfaced earlier this week. “Without Mike, I’m not here.”
As the draft approached, Maxey said he believed he would go somewhere in the middle of the first round. That perplexed Tyrone, not only as a proud father but as Maxey’s former AAU coach who “knew everybody in that draft.”
Prominent mock drafts slotted LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton, who have both become All-Stars, ahead of Maxey. Ditto for Killian Hayes, who quickly flamed out of the NBA. Though those outside evaluations regularly praised Maxey’s crafty finishing and expressed belief in his shooting form, The Ringer’s draft guide also critiqued that he “lacked top-end quickness and acceleration.”
When draft night arrived, Maxey’s mother, Denyse, re-created a green room at their Texas home and asked attending loved ones to take a rapid COVID test at the door. Ball, Haliburton, and Hayes all went off the board in the top 12. When the San Antonio Spurs took Devin Vassell at No. 11 and the Orlando Magic selected Cole Anthony 15th, Maxey “knew I was going to sit for a minute.”
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has become a leader for the team in his sixth NBA season. Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey was knighted as “The Franchise” early in his career by former MVP Joel Embiid.
Agent Rich Paul called just before the 20th pick, predicting Maxey would be selected by the Miami Heat or the Sixers.
Morey told The Inquirer in 2021 that the Sixers were considering trading down. But when the Heat took Precious Achiuwa of Memphis and Maxey was still available, Morey wanted to shoot for a high-ceiling player instead of settling for a “solid” one.
“We chose not to [trade back] just because we believed in Tyrese so much,” Morey said then. “ … We were surprised he was there, and really thrilled he was there.”
Maxey joined a team that finished with the Eastern Conference’s best record in his rookie season, making early playing time spotty until a couple of breakout playoff performances. Then the opportunities to flourish began.
Ben Simmons’ holdout forced Maxey into starting point guard duties as a second-year player. He got to learn from future Hall of Famer James Harden, then he took over lead ballhandling duties when Harden forced his way out of Philly early in the 2023-24 season.
Maxey formed a dynamic two-man partnership with Embiid, becoming the NBA’s Most Improved Player and a first-time All-Star in 2024. Embiid’s multiple knee surgeries in recent seasons elevated Maxey into the top offensive role, with the electric skill and playing style that made him the top American vote-getter among fans in this year’s All-Star balloting.
Tyrese Maxey’s parents, Denyse and Tyrone, played a major role in his basketball development.
That all leads to this weekend, when Maxey will be introduced as an All-Star starter on Sunday.
When Maxey was asked earlier this week if he still looks back on the players who went ahead of him in the 2020 draft, an eavesdropping Trendon Watford — Maxey’s teammate and longtime close friend — vigorously nodded.
“I’ve got to let it go,” Maxey conceded. “It’s over.”
Because all of those bizarre basketball and societal circumstances — a pandemic, a Muscala shot, and a slip down draft boards — aligned to make him a Sixer.
“He landed in the right spot,” Tyrone said. “It was all God’s plan.”
PORTLAND, Ore. — After the 76ers’ victory at the Phoenix Suns last Saturday, Nick Nurse was still irked about the game they let slip away at the Los Angeles Lakers two nights prior.
“Quarter here [Monday] that’s really bad, and one quarter in L.A.,” Nurse said late Monday about the 3-2 trip. “But most of it was really good basketball.”
That was all part of the Sixers’ busy week out west, which overlapped with the trade deadline. The Sixers said goodbye to Jared McCain and Eric Gordon in the middle of the trip. Joel Embiid remained dominant in the three games he played. Tyrese Maxey was invited to the three-point contest at All-Star Saturday.
Next, the Sixers have one more game against the rival New York Knicks before the All-Star break.
“Everybody will get up for [that],” veteran wing Kelly Oubre Jr. said of the Knicks game. “Take care of that one, and we feel good going into the break.”
First, here are some additional nuggets and observations from the Sixers’ five-game trip.
Maxey three-point contest
Tyrese Maxey declined an invitation to compete in the three-point contest at All-Star Weekend in 2024, acknowledging he was “nervous” and wanted to soak up the experience as a first-time All-Star.
“This year, I definitely wanted to do it, man,” Maxey said Monday morning from Portland. “I wanted to be a part of that night, and I’m going to go out there and try to win.”
Maxey was announced Sunday as a participant in the event that now headlines All-Star Saturday. He has become one of the league’s most dangerous long-range shooters because of the variety of attempts he can fire off the catch and dribble, and because he has extended his range. He entered Wednesday shooting 37.9% on 8.8 attempts per game this season.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey will participate in the three-point contest at All-Star Weekend.
Shooting off a rack, however, is quite different than taking a shot in the flow of a game. Maxey said he has a little experience in such competitions in high school and while at Kentucky, and might spend some time practicing off the rack Tuesday night. And Sixers player development coach Toure’ Murry has told Maxey since the beginning of the season that he has “got something for me” as far as strategy with where to place the “money” balls worth extra points.
Maxey has fond memories of watching former Golden State Warriors “Splash Brothers” Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson get hot in the three-point contest. Former winners Damian Lillard and Devin Booker are also in this year’s field.
And now, Maxey is far from nervous to join them.
“Everything from that weekend and being a part of it is special,” Maxey said. “It’s a blessing, and I’m not going to take any of it for granted.”
Plan for Paul George
As the Sixers walked into Santa Monica Prep for their first shootaround of this trip, Paul George was among those in attendance. George’s personal trainer also has continued to travel with the team.
George still has 19 games remaining in his 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. But he is permitted to remain around the team for practices and shootarounds.
“The organization’s equipped in any way to provide him whatever he needs,” said Nurse, alluding that George has at least partially attributed his positive drug test to mental health struggles. “ … We want to keep him as engaged on the basketball side.”
Oubre, who is now tasked with making up for some of George’s production on both ends of the floor, expressed support for his teammate during this time.
“My first thought was just praying for him,” Oubre said upon hearing the news of George’s suspension. “Obviously, that’s tough, man, especially when you talk about mental health, because that’s the unseen. You see us physically, but you don’t know what’s going on in our head and in our lives.”
Edgecombe’s bounceback
VJ Edgecombe said his 1-of-11 shooting dud on Feb. 2 at the Los Angeles Clippers was easy to mentally flush. But Nurse took things a step further, immediately calling the Sixers’ first couple of plays for Edgecombe in the following night’s matchup at Golden State.
That ignited the rookie guard’s 25-point outburst on 11-of-20 shooting, a significant lift as the Warriors’ defense relentlessly swarmed Maxey.
“Just to say, ‘We’re going to VJ,’” Nurse said “ … I didn’t know it was going to be that good. But I figured he’d be ready to go, and we just wanted to let him know we believe in him.”
Consider that another example of the immense — and rare — confidence Edgecombe has instantly instilled in his coach and teammates. And Edgecombe feels that reciprocated.
“Once your teammates have trust in you, I feel like you can just go out there and just go hoop,” Edgecombe said. “ … You don’t have to worry about if they care if you’re missing. It’s a team game. They know I’m going to make the right plays. They just have a ton of faith in me.”
That performance also arrived in his second matchup against mentor and former Bahamian teammate Buddy Hield, whom Edgecombe playfully talked trash to after taking him off the dribble for a score. Edgecombe also jawed with fellow Bahamian teammate Deandre Ayton during Thursday’s loss to the Lakers, and said goodbye to Eric Gordon when the Sixers traded him at the deadline.
Nurse credited Gordon with helping foster Edgecombe’s poise as an immediate impact rookie.
“That type of steadiness and calmness that Eric kind of always has,” Nurse said, “I think was valuable to VJ. He probably picked some of that up.”
Bona’s hands
Adem Bona nabbed a steal against the Warriors, and had a wide-open court in front of him. The reserve center methodically dribbled and threw down the dunk, prompting a more-excited-than-usual reaction from the Sixers’ bench for a fairly routine transition bucket.
“It’s kind of a joke from the previous game [against the Clippers],” Bona said, “where I was running too fast and I fumbled the ball. I was taking my time this time. I was a little slower. … I was super slow.”
Sixers center Adem Bona has worked diligently to be able to catch passes on the move.
Bona’s hands have warranted critique since taking on a more important role as the backup center, whether Joel Embiid or Andre Drummond starts the game. He regularly drills those fundamentals, including before games while working with assistant coach TJ DiLeo on moving up and down the court while dribbling between his legs and behind his back.
Evidence that this is still a work in progress: He mishandled an alley-oop catch during Saturday’s victory at the Phoenix Suns.
Tardy in San Francisco
Even NBA travel parties can get caught in San Francisco traffic. Especially while immersed in Super Bowl week hubbub before the big game played in nearby Santa Clara.
The Sixers’ team buses were more than an hour late to the Chase Center last Tuesday, throwing off pregame routines for players who are creatures of habit. Nurse secretly hoped players would ditch those warm-ups entirely, because “I’m not that big of a believer” in expending that energy on the second night of a back-to-back.
Nurse, meanwhile, used the additional bus time to flip on some film that he planned to watch in his office. And it caused him to expedite a series of meetings with various coaches that typically begin about two hours before tipoff.
“They’re just review, review, review,” Nurse said, “one last time before we take the test.”
The move was somewhat anticlimactic, given his impact this season as a rebounder, cutter and all-around hustle role player. And his postgame comments about the conversion were somewhat subdued, given that they occurred after the Sixers had surrendered a 14-point lead against the Lakers.
Yet all of that also demonstrates how much Barlow has thrived as a late signee with the Sixers, in a situation where he feels his skills are “valued and appreciated.” This career season comes after Barlow spent his first three seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks, where he made a combined five starts and never averaged more than 14.6 minutes in those appearances.
“I feel that energy here,” Barlow said, “ … I’m just having so much fun being out there with everybody.”
Beauchamp makes his debut
Perhaps the one positive of the Trail Blazers’ drubbing of the Sixers Monday? MarJon Beauchamp got his first NBA minutes of the season, totaling 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Even better: That performance occurred in the arena closest to Beauchamp’s roots that the Sixers will travel all season. The 25-year-old was born in Yakima, Wash., and went to high school in Seattle before joining G League Ignite and getting drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2022.
Nurse said he was impressed with Beauchamp’s quickness and aggressiveness to push the ball off rebounds. The coach also did not notice any glaring mistakes within the Sixers’ schemes or Beauchamp’s individual assignments. After suiting up for three NBA teams last season, Beauchamp said he was focused on playing with confidence in his first extended minutes at this level in an estimated 18 months.
“I just tried to be assertive, not think too much, and just play hard,” Beauchamp said after the game.
Added Oubre: “He did a really good job of picking up on everything, so that goes to show that he’s been studying and putting in the work and staying ready, just giving him confidence and making sure that he feels like we’re all together, he’s in this with us and not just visiting.”
Beauchamp flashed that confidence when he tried to uncork a dunk on Portland rookie Yang Hansen, who stands 7-foot-1. Beauchamp said he attempted such a feat when he was signed to a training camp deal with the Trail Blazers this past fall, but that in-game attempt was “probably the closest I’ve been” to throwing it down.
“I wanted that dunk so bad,” Beauchamp said. “Next time, though.”
Quotable
Oubre on reaching the All-Star break: “We have a blank canvas on the season, and we want to create a masterpiece at the end. We’re still painting.”
