The Philadelphia 76ers had themselves a successful draft night as they were able to get themselves off of Al Horford’s contract as well as bring in some shooting and they had a steal of a draft pick at 21.
The Sixers could not believe their luck when Kentucky guard Tyrese Maxey came falling down draft boards and he landed to them at 21. Sure, his shooting percentages were low, but he is a lottery talent who has a willingness to get in the gym and work hard every day.
That work ethic and the desire to get better is what’s going to make him a solid player in this league for a long time.
“I wanted to show people that I’m a way better shooter than what my numbers said,” said Maxey. “What I’ve been doing is, I’ve been working out at 6:00 A.M., go lift at 8, I’m back in the gym at 10, and sometimes I go back later in the day. I want to be able to show everybody that I can knock down those threes and I feel like I’m a way better shooter than what my numbers show and that’s one thing I want to show at the next level.”
Maxey then went into full detail about what a regular workout day looks like for him in order to improve as a shooter.
“My goal at the 6:00 A.M. session to make 750-to-800 and then go lift, come back, and do it all over again,” he explained. “It’s been a great process, my thing is to set my own records. I’m trying to make consecutive shots in a row to see that consistency build up. So making 20 one day, making 25 the next day, and the highest I am right now is 36. So you keep building, keep building to where you have that confidence. I have it now to where if I’m open, I’m going to knock it down. I have no doubt in my mind it’s going to go in.”
On top of that, Maxey was wearing an interesting shirt with the phrase “fall in love with the process” on it. That resonates in Philadelphia for obvious reasons and he then explained why he wore that shirt.
“It’s so funny because my uncle when I was in high school, he gave me this shirt,” he said with a laugh. “It kind of just stuck with me because of the way that I work and getting up at 6:00 A.M. and different things like that and I wore it yesterday (draft day) when I worked out at 7:00 A.M. and I posted it. Then, I get drafted to Philadelphia and I’ve seen it everywhere and I’m like ‘Wow OK’ and it was blue too. I might as well where this.”
Tyrese Maxey wearing a "fall in love with the process" shirt this morning pic.twitter.com/VzAMSRAp90
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) November 19, 2020
Maxey looks like he can be a really solid player for Philadelphia and he can be a guy who is involved with their rotation for the long haul. New president Daryl Morey, general manager Elton Brand, and the rest of the organization should be excited about what he can bring to the table. [lawrence-related id=39267,39261,39258]