Tyrese Maxey is 21 years old and already a rock solid candidate for Most Improved Player—an award that’s been won by only seven sophomores in NBA history. But packed into Maxey’s startling production is a new, steeper trajectory that also makes him one of the league’s more pivotal young talents. As a point guard with star potential, Maxey is changing the calculus when it comes to what Daryl Morey should ask for if/when the Sixers trade Ben Simmons.
It’s understated, but very few players see their minutes, points and assists more than double from year one to two, as Maxey’s have. He’s stepped into a complicated situation and, ironically, given the Sixers something they’ve been on-and-off searching for since The Process was realized in the form of legitimate championship contention: a conventional, self-starting spark who makes delightful things happen with the ball in his hands.
Out of 26 players who’ve finished at least 200 possessions as a pick-and-roll ballhandler this season, Maxey is fifth in scoring efficiency, behind Donovan Mitchell, Steph Curry, Zach LaVine and Trae Young—which means, according to Synergy Sports, he’s ahead of Chris Paul, DeMar DeRozan and Ja Morant. Maxey probes with a live dribble and takes advantage of his blinding speed and soft touch around the basket in ways that have helped him emerge as a real threat all over the floor.
He’s gone from one of the worst three-point shooters in the NBA (Maxey made 30.1% of his 103 attempts as a rookie after hitting an even lower percentage in his one season at Kentucky) to a respectable threat on pull ups and catch-and-shoot tries, where he’s at 36% on both. Last year he never hinted at semi-regularly knocking down a stepback behind the arc. But from October 2021 on, he’s combined smooth footwork with a newfound confidence that’s helped redefine who he is and what he can be.
Maxey is slowly learning how to leverage that outside threat in more ways than one. As his accuracy climbs, so will the panic he induces in a defense.
Maxey has also become a better finisher, going from 59.1% to 67% within three feet of the basket, a jump that’s most noticeable when he puts his foot on the gas to burn opponents who go under screens trying to keep him out of the paint and away from his giant-slaying floater. (According to Synergy Sports, only Russell Westbrook and De’Aaron Fox have finished more possessions as a pick-and-roll ball handler against opponents who duck under the pick; in these spots Maxey ranks in the 85th percentile.)
All of this is happening as he replaces Simmons, a three-time All-Star who not so long ago was ordained as the most reliable prize gleaned from Philadelphia’s multi-year tank job. So, what exactly do the Sixers have in their second-year guard?