PHILADELPHIA–Rising Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey continues to make strides as a young player in his career thus far. The third-year guard out of Kentucky continues to work his tail off on an everyday basis and it’s showing on the floor.
Even in the middle of a shooting slump, he never lost his confidence, and he was able to break through on Saturday. Maxey had 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting as well as nine assists in Saturday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks and it continues to be a product of the hard work he puts in.
Assistant coach Sam Cassell, who filled in for Doc Rivers postgame as he was dealing with a personal matter, had a lot of praise for Maxey and the work he continues to put in.
“I wish we had 12 more Tyrese Maxeys on this ball club,” said Cassell. “The kid works extremely hard. He takes my criticism. I’m very, very hard on him if y’all don’t know that by now.”
Cassell, an assistant coach on Rivers’ staff, had a successful 15-year career being named an All-Star once and winning three championships. He had career averages of 15.7 points and 6.0 assists while also being named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2004.
He knows what it takes to be successful and he is pushing Maxey to have the same type of success.
“I’m critical of him, really. I think the sky’s the limit for the kid and if he continues to develop, he’ll be fine,” added Cassell. “He’s my least worry on this team. He’s a true professional and it’s a blessing for me, personally to have a guy like that to work with.”
When asked if he sees himself in the young guard, Cassell laughed and pointed out one big difference.
“Everything, but the speed!” he said. “The athleticism.”
If Maxey continues to make these strides, one has to assume that he will be an All-Star at some point in his career.
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