Tag: Tyrese Maxey

Sixers’ Joel Embiid gives thoughts on Tyrese Maxey winning MIP

Joel Embiid gives his thoughts on Philadelphia 76ers teammate Tyrese Maxey winning the Most Improved Player award.

PHILADELPHIA — Young Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey has taken big steps forward as a player throughout the four seasons of his career. In the 2023-24 season, the Sixers put the ball in Maxey’s hands as the point guard amid the James Harden drama and he didn’t blink.

Maxey averaged 25.9 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 45% from the floor and 37.3% from deep. Those numbers led him to his first All-Star appearance as well as winning the Most Improved Player award.

Joel Embiid, who has been Maxey’s biggest supporter since being drafted in 2020, was proud of his younger teammate for the accomplishment.

“It’s been amazing,” Embiid said of Maxey. “Obviously, I’ve had him since he was a rookie. The steps that he’s taken every single year has been amazing. Like I always say, the hardest worker that I’ve ever been around. He’s always happy. He’s taken another step. I mean, he’s been our best player this whole season and he needs to take another step for us to win.”

To Embiid’s point, Maxey has been Philadelphia’s best player due to the big fella missing two months due to a meniscus procedure on his left knee. He had to be in order to keep Philadelphia afloat until his return.

Now, Maxey’s averaging 31.0 points per game in Round 1 against the New York Knicks. He has continued to be a constant next to Embiid amid a lot of changes and drama the team has had to battle through in the past.

“He’s gonna have to keep stepping up and taking on those challenges, but every single year—we’ve dealt with so much drama and he’s the constant,” Embiid added. “I just keep coming up, like, finally! We have this one guy just a franchise player. He’s just always happy. Everybody wants to be around him.”

Maxey continues to take steps forward in his game. As long as he is on the floor next to Embiid, the Sixers are always going to have a shot.

“He plays hard,” Embiid finished. “A good basketball player, obviously, but a great human being, and throughout what we went through, and we finally find that guy. It’s great and he’s amazing.”

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Sixers react to NBA’s Last 2 Minute report pointing out missed calls

The Philadelphia 76ers react to the Last 2 Minute report pointing out all of the missed calls in their Game 2 loss.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers were on the wrong end of some hugely important missed calls in their 104-101 Game 2 loss to the New York Knicks on Monday. The Sixers were up, 101-99, with 27.1 seconds left and the Knicks got away with a number of missed calls.

Per the NBA’s Last 2 Minute report, which points out calls made by officiating in the final two minutes of a game, there were missed foul calls on New York’s Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart on the chaotic inbounds play. The report stated both should have been called for fouls on Tyrese Maxey.

The report also stated coach Nick Nurse should have been granted a timeout. After the loss, Nurse was adamant that he had called one, but was ignored.

For Maxey, the Last 2 Minute report brings some peace, but he also just wants to focus on Game 3 on Thursday.

“I guess you could say peace for sure, but I think what it is for us is it gives us is reassurance,” said Maxey at practice on Wednesday. “We gotta use that and put it to the fuel for the fire. It is what it is. We’re down 2-0 and if we dwell on it, we’ll be down 0-3, but we can’t dwell on it. We gotta go out there and do what we’re capable of doing. Go out there and execute the game plan and win two games at home.”

Nurse took a different approach. He wanted nothing to do with Game 2 after a certain time.

“The clock hit midnight after that game and I moved on,” he said succinctly. “I always give it until midnight and move on. Get ready for the next one.”

If the Sixers can win on Thursday, it’s a 2-1 series. That would give Philadelphia some momentum with another game at home on Sunday. Game 3 is essentially a must-win for the Sixers. No team in NBA history has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win the series.

“At the end of the day, after Thursday, if we win that game, it’ll be 2-1 and as close as a series can be,” Maxey added. “Somebody has to be up 2-1, you know what I mean? It’s gonna be a dog fight.”

Tip off on Thursday is set for 7:30 p.m. EDT.

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Tyrese Maxey reacts to winning MIP, gives credit to Ben Simmons, James Harden

Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey reacts to winning the MIP award and gives credit to Ben Simmons, James Harden, and others.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers put the ball in the hands of Tyrese Maxey in the 2023-24 season amid the James Harden saga and the young guard didn’t blink. In his fourth season in the league, he averaged 25.9 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 45% from the floor and 37.3% from deep.

He was named an All-Star for the first time in his career and his continued improvement allowed him to be named the Most Improved Player for the 2023-24 season.

For a guy whose motto is “get 1% better every day,” there was no better player to give the award to.

“It means a lot to me just because it’s something that I preach,” he said about winning the award. “Something that I live by and it’s not fake or something I started last year. I’ve been saying that for a very long time. My pop’s been on me about it. He always said proper preparation prevents poor performance so for me, it does really mean a lot.”

The 21st pick of the 2020 NBA draft, Maxey has been an absolute steal for Philadelphia. He has taken leaps and bounds throughout his career, and his rise to stardom in the league has been fascinating and impressive.

“It’s just a testament to the work,” he added. “I appreciate everybody who’s helped me along this way. Trainers, family members, people who actually believed in me, and everybody keeps saying when I got drafted I said I’d work extremely hard and I’ll make sure it’s not a regret. I really meant those things. I wanna keep building and keep getting better every single day.”

It also helps Maxey has had teammates he could learn from: Ben Simmons, James Harden, Kyle Lowry and others have all played a part in his development. Simmons and Harden receive ire from the city of Philadelphia, but both players received credit from Maxey.

“It’s helped a lot,” Maxey said of his teammates. “I’ve learned from a lot of people. Honestly, I go down a list. Ben was here, George Hill was here, guys like Danny Green was involved, but he was a leader. He was here who helped me a lot. I talked about him last night just about recovery and things like that. JH comes in, he helps me big time. Kyle Lowry, Pat Bev, those guys.”

Simmons has given love to Maxey in the past and Harden has as well. Harden, especially, has a special place in Maxey’s development and he made sure to give him another shoutout.

“What they all did here, they never, like, stepped on my toes,” Maxey finished. “They never hated. They always tried to build me up and I just really appreciate them for that. Especially, like, James man. He never wanted to step on my toes. He always wanted me to be aggressive and shoutout to him. I appreciate him.”

Maxey and the Sixers will now look to get on the board in the playoffs when they host the New York Knicks in Game 3 of the first round on Thursday.

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Bulls’ Coby White snubbed for 2024 Most Improved Player award

White got just 32 first place votes to Tyrese Maxey’s 51, and trailed the Sixers star 319 to 305 in the overall vote tally.

One of the few bright spots for Chicago Bulls fans this season has been the play and growth of reserve guard Coby White. He made the most of a bad situation after he was thrust into a bigger role with injuries to Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine opened up plenty of playing time for him.

And White ran with that opportunity, so much so that he found himself in the mix to win the 2024 Most Improved Player award. But he would ultimately not get the nod for that particular piece of full season hardware, it instead having gone to Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey.

White got just 32 first place votes to Maxey’s 51, and trailed the Sixers star 319 to 305 in the overall vote tally.

Was White snubbed despite having a comparable or superior season? Check out the clip embedded above to hear the thoughts of the folks behind the “Bulls Central” YouTube channel.

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Sixers feeling confident they can beat Knicks despite 0-2 series deficit

The Philadelphia 76ers are feeling confident they can beat the New York Knicks despite the 0-2 series deficit.

NEW YORK — After two games of this first-round playoff series, the Philadelphia 76ers trail the New York Knicks 2-0. The Sixers have given themselves a chance in both games, but they were not able to get the job done.

However, the Sixers are feeling confident. They’re down, but they’re not out. Coach Nick Nurse will make sure this team continues to fight, scratch and claw for everything. The Knicks held serve at home. Now the Sixers must do the same as the series shifts to South Philadelphia.

“We played really well, did a lot of great things,” Nurse said after Game 2. “Played better in a bunch of areas tonight. It’s obviously difficult when it’s so close and you kind of give it away at the end. It’s obviously difficult in these circumstances, right? It just makes the series a little longer.”

Joel Embiid, who had 34 points in the Game 2 loss, guaranteed the Sixers would win this series. For that to happen, Philadelphia will need to match the intensity and the physicality the Knicks play with. The Sixers did so in Game 2, but came up short.

They will have to be ready to match it again in Game 3 on Thursday.

“Keep fighting,” Nic Batum said. “We showed that in a tough arena with a big crowd, we nearly had a chance to be up by 2-0 right now. It didn’t go our way twice, but we did have a chance to win those two games so all we have to do is keep fighting. Now we go home, it’ll be another big fight. Just go out there and keep playing.”

On top of the fact that they were right there in both games, the Sixers have the two best players in this series: Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. New York has won the first two games of this series, but it’s the first to four. If the Sixers continue to get this type of production out of their star duo, they will be in great shape.

“I thought there were stretches of the game where I didn’t see him being so aggressive, but certainly the last 15 minutes, he was really chasing it down, turning on the jets, slamming on the brakes — all the things he can do time and time again,” Nurse said of Maxey. “So I thought he was great when it really mattered.”

Game 3 is on Thursday from the Wells Fargo Center.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams receive votes for 2023-24 Most Improved Player

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams received votes for 2023-24 Most Improved Player.

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a pair of players receive votes for the 2023-24 Most Improved Player award. Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey won the award.

Jalen Williams finished fourth in voting with 79 points. He received five first-place votes, 11 second-place votes and 21 third-place votes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander totaled three points with one second-place vote.

This shouldn’t be a shocker. Williams has blossomed into one of the best young wings this with an efficient scoring season. Gilgeous-Alexander has developed into an MVP candidate.

The duo led the Thunder (57-25) to the first seed. They were the youngest top-seed in league history. It was a massive jump from last season, which finished a win shy of the playoffs.

The full voting results:

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Sixers star Tyrese Maxey wins 2024 Most Improved Player award

Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey has been named the 2024 Most Improved Player winner.

Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey was presented with many challenges in the 2023-24 season. In his fourth season in the league, Maxey took over the starting point guard job amid the James Harden drama and didn’t blink an eye.

He made his first All-Star appearance, averaging 25.9 points, 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 45% from the floor and 37.3% from deep. He guided the Sixers through two months without Joel Embiid, making sure the team stayed afloat.

For his efforts, Maxey was named the 2024 Most Improved Player. His scoring average went up from 20.3 to 25.9. His assists jumped from 3.5 to 6.2 and his rebounds from 2.9 to 3.7. He was fantastic in his fourth season.

Maxey is in the process of helping the Sixers get the job done in the playoffs, but he is well deserving of the award. He was absolutely fantastic from start to finish.

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Sixers will continue to follow Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey as series shifts

The Philadelphia 76ers will continue to lean on star leaders Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey as the series now shifts to Philadelphia.

NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers are returning to the Wells Fargo Center down 2-0 in this first-round playoff series with the New York Knicks. They had their chances in both games 1 and 2, but were not able to walk away with the victory.

The positives for Philadelphia are the play of star duo Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. In the Game 2 loss on Monday, the duo combined for 69 points, 19 rebounds and 16 assists. They were able to have that type of production despite Embiid dealing with a variety of injuries and Maxey dealing with an illness.

As the series shifts to the Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers continue to lean on their star leaders, starting with Embiid.

“Very good,” coach Nick Nurse said of Embiid. “I thought he was excellent. Really outstanding.”

It is admirable to see Embiid play as well as he did despite the obvious pain that he’s in. Not only is the knee bothering him, but he was hit in the eye in Game 1 and is dealing with that as well. He has had a couple of dominant games to start this series for Philadelphia.

“It’s all mental,” Embiid added. “Obviously, it’s not the best-case scenario, but I’m good. No excuses. Play good or play bad, got to find a way to win.”

Then, there’s Maxey who fought through an illness that required him to have an IV. He delivered 35 points, including 15 coming in the fourth. It appeared his heroics would be enough before the unfortunate final 30 seconds for Philadelphia.

“He was ballin,” said Tobias Harris of Maxey. “That’s who he is and he made huge shot after huge shot for us. A game like that, you wanna get a victory for those types of performances and him just fighting through sickness and being there for the group. We’ll be fine. We just gotta keep our composure, stay level-headed, and be ready.”

The Sixers are down 2-0 and their prospects look rather bleak, but Philadelphia will lean on Embiid and Maxey to get back into this series. Being back in the friendly confines of the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday should help.

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Stephen A. Smith defends Tyrese Maxey, Sixers after Game 2 loss

Stephen A. Smith defends Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers after their Game 2 loss to the New York Knicks.

The Philadelphia 76ers had Game 2 in their grasp. Tyrese Maxey drilled a 3-pointer to put Philadelphia up 100-96 to silence Madison Square Garden, and it appeared the Sixers would even the series.

Then, the Sixers had trouble getting the ball inbounds. It appeared Maxey was fouled by Knicks star Jalen Brunson, but there was no call, and Philadelphia ended up turning the ball over. That led to New York’s Donte DiVincenzo knocking down a 3 to give the Knicks the lead for good with 13.0 seconds left. The Sixers fell, 104-101, and are down 2-0 in the series.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, a known Knicks fan, defended Maxey and the Sixers after the Game 2 loss and blasted the officiating:

I saw Tyrese Maxey get mugged if I’m being totally honest. He got fouled at least two or three (times). There’s no reason on Earth why that call shouldn’t have been made. It wasn’t made, unfortunately for the Sixers. If you’re a New York Knicks fan, it’s not unfortunate. Donte DiVincenzo got another opportunity, he took advantage of it, and the New York Knicks are up 2-0.

It’s extremely unfortunate for the Sixers, but the Knicks did what they were supposed to do, which is win two games at home. The Sixers must do the same thing when the series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Thursday.

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Tyrese Maxey gives his perspective on final possession of Game 2 loss

Tyrese Maxey gives his perspective on what happened on the chaotic possession in the Game 2 loss for the Philadelphia 76ers.

NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers had their opportunity in Game 2 against the New York Knicks on Monday. Tyrese Maxey hit a step-back 3 to give Philadelphia a 100-96 lead with 1:09 left to silence the Madison Square Garden crowd as it appeared the Sixers had it wrapped up.

Then, chaos ensued. Jalen Brunson pulled the Knicks to within two, 101-99, with 27.1 seconds left before Philadelphia had trouble getting the ball in. Maxey appeared to be fouled twice on the inbounds pass. However, there was no call and he ended up turning the ball over in the corner.

New York’s Donte DiVincenzo missed a wing triple. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it back out to DiVincenzo for an open triple. The Knicks walked away with a 104-101 win to take a 2-0 series lead.

“I don’t remember,” Maxey said. “I just tried to get the ball. We threw it inbounds. It was hard for me to catch it. I had to sweep through a couple guys. I tried. I tried my best.”

A lot of the focus after Game 2 will be on the officiating. After all, the Sixers are filing a grievance to the league about what happened in both Game 1 and Game 2. However, if Philadelphia had just grabbed a rebound off DiVincenzo’s first missed triple, things would have been different.

“Just got to rebound,” Maxey said. “I can’t turn the ball over. I can’t lose the ball and we’ve got to get the rebound.”

Maxey had 35 points, 15 in the fourth quarter, to try and lift the Sixers to a Game 2 win. It’s unfortunate when considering he was playing through an illness that has been bothering him for a bit since Game 1 of this series.

“I don’t feel great at all, honestly,” he stated. “I don’t like taking medicine. Everybody knows that. I really can’t stand taking medicine, but I took medicine. I had to take an IV. I did whatever they asked me to do. I wasn’t missing the game. It didn’t matter. I don’t feel great.”

Maxey and the Sixers will have to find a way now to bounce back from one of the more heartbreaking losses they have ever had to go through and prepare for Game 3 on Thursday.

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