CAMDEN, N.J. — When the Philadelphia 76ers selected Tyrese Maxey 20th in the 2020 NBA draft, nobody expected his rise to stardom to be this quick. If he continues on his present trajectory, he is on his way to being an All-Star.
One thing’s for sure, nobody saw him becoming one of the elite 3-point shooters in the NBA.
In his one season at Kentucky, Maxey shot 29.2% from deep. In his rookie season, he shot 30.1% from deep. In the 2022-23 season, his third NBA season, he shot 43.4% from deep which is good for fifth in the NBA.
“I never see that with anybody, but I said it his rookie year, when you watch him shoot in practice, he doesn’t miss a lot, but whether that’s gonna translate to him being a top five 3-point shooter, we just don’t ever know that,” said coach Doc Rivers. “That’s probably past any of our expectations this early in his career. So that’s been great for us.”
For Maxey, he isn’t surprised. He always knew he was a good shooter. He just needed the opportunity to show it. He was surprised the line on him was that he couldn’t shoot.
“Yeah, because I’ve always been able to shoot,” said Maxey. “I shot the ball well in high school. I think I shot like 40%. It may have bothered me because I knew what I was capable of, but the statistics don’t lie.”
Maxey took 3.6 attempts from deep in college, 1.7 as an NBA rookie, 4.1 in his second season, and 6.2 this season. He just needed more shots.
“My freshman year, I shot 29% and my rookie year I shot like 30-something at very low volume because I didn’t play as much,” he explained. “Once I got the opportunity to shoot consistently in the games, people in the coaching staff and the players trusted me and I was able to go out there and show what I can do.”
It also helps that Maxey has a maniacal work ethic and he understands what needs to be done when he is on a team that features Joel Embiid and James Harden. He needs to space the floor for them to work. His hard work has paid off.
“It feels cool,” Maxey finished. “I knew coming in playing with James, Jo, Tobias (Harris) that catch-and-shoot opportunities are going to be vital on this team. You have to be able to space the floor so guys can operate. That’s one thing I really worked on the last two summers. It kinda showed and I appreciate them for finding me and trusting me to make shots for this team.”
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