Philadelphia 76ers rookie Tyrese Maxey has put in countless hours in the gym to reach the NBA. The opportunity to show off that hard work has finally arrived for the 21st overall pick with the Sixers set to tip off the season versus the Washington Wizards.
Maxey spent much of the offseason training in Los Angeles with noted NBA trainer Chris Johnson. He was often up early in the morning in the gym working on his game and his training regimen even caught the attention of future teammate Ben Simmons.
The 20-year-old said on Wednesday that a lot of preparation went into this moment ahead of the season opener. Maxey believes the work put in has been the best part of the process and is eager to show it off throughout his rookie year.
“I think the best thing, in my opinion, is what you do in the dark always comes to light,” Maxey said. “I just fell in love with the work. Everything that y’all see in the game, I put the work in in the dark. I’m ready and I’m prepared and I can’t wait for my opportunity.”
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers plans to deploy a 10-man rotation to start the season and expects Maxey to play a key role. Maxey projects to play both on and off of the ball, which figures to give the team quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to the lineups on the court.
The addition of Maxey should give the 76ers a much-needed boost of offense and energy off the bench. The team has long needed help from the second unit and Maxey could very well be the fix.
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