Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey is enjoying his first All-Star appearance in Indianapolis. He will represent the Sixers in the game as well as the skills challenge on Saturday night and his strong play has earned respect around the league.
On the season, Maxey is averaging 25.7 points, 6.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 37.8% from deep. He has stepped into the starting point guard job in place of James Harden and hasn’t blinked.
Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant has been one of the faces of the NBA for a long time and when asked at All-Star weekend who he thinks will be the next faces of the game, he told reporters:
I think each era has about six or seven guys that help carry the game forward, help push the game forward. It’s more than just Steph (Curry) and LeBron (James) and myself. It’s the James Hardens, Russell Westbrooks, Kawhi Leonards, Paul Georges; a lot of these guys who inspired the next generation of hoopers to want to be professionals. There’s more than just one or two guys.
You look around the league — I’m going to miss a lot of guys, but you see Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander), Ant (Edwards), Book (Devin Booker), Luka (Doncic), Tyrese Maxey, Tyrese Haliburton. There are so many guys inspiring the next generation of hoopers after them to become basketball players that you can’t just pinpoint it to one or two guys.
It’s about pushing the game forward, setting a different standard, how we play. These guys are doing it right now.
As long as Maxey continues to work hard and take steps forward, he is certainly going to be one of those faces in the NBA. He has morphed into one of the more explosive scorers in the game and he has added a lot to his game in order to continue taking steps toward stardom.
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