There was a stretch in the 2022-23 season when Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey was coming off the bench. After Maxey missed a big stretch due to a foot injury, former coach Doc Rivers decided to experiment.
When Maxey returned from the injury, Rivers decided to start De’Anthony Melton. From Jan. 15 through Feb. 27, 2023, Maxey only started one game of the 18 he played and that was due to James Harden missing a contest in Sacramento on Jan. 21.
It was initially believed that it was Maxey’s idea and that he was fine with coming off the bench. However, he revealed on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast that he wasn’t really on board with the decision Rivers made:
I’ll tell this story from last year. When I came back from my foot being broke, I went to the bench for a little bit and the whole time thinking, like, I was killing before I went to the — you know what I’m saying? Before I got hurt. Like dang! Is it me? Why am I going to the bench? You know what I’m saying? But like, me being on a championship contending team, at the time, like it hurt me. I had some days where I call my mom. I’m telling her like, I’m sick. I don’t feel like I should be on the bench. I’m starting, but like, for me it was OK. You know, I gotta calm down. I gotta really be professional in this moment. I got to play this role. This is what they want me to do because at the end of the day, we got the big fella. We got a championship team and we can win right now. So like, if my role was to come off the bench to try and that’s what the coaching staff and the organization wants me to do, I’m willing to do it. I’m gonna try it and that’s where guys got to be professional. You know what I’m saying? It’s hard. You’re gonna be sad. You’re gonna feel some type of way but like, I ended up getting my spot back because that’s what happened. They figured it out but like, it hurts. It hurts.
Under the guidance of new coach Nick Nurse, it looks as if Maxey is going to be a surefire All-Star in 2024. Rivers did a lot of good things for both Maxey and the Sixers, but one has to like what Philadelphia has done under the guidance of Nurse to begin the 2023-24 season.
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