Tyrese Maxey is latest former Kentucky star in NBA to receive max contract

Tyrese Maxey will sign a maximum contract after his breakout 2023-24 season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Tyrese Maxey is the latest former Kentucky player to cash in on a maximum contract extension.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Maxey has agreed in principle to a five-year, $204 million extension with the Philadelphia 76ers, the team Maxey has spent all four of his NBA seasons with.

Maxey had a breakout season with Philadelphia in 2023-24, averaging career bests in points per game (25.9) and minutes played (37.5). He also averaged a career-high 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds a night while shooting 45 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Maxey scored 50 points or more in three games this past season, including a season-high 52 against San Antonio on April 7. He also had 51 against Utah on February 1 and 50 against Indiana on November 12.

He was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2024 and made the All-Star team for the first time in his career. Maxey’s performance helped lead the Sixers to a 47-35 regular season and the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Philadelphia was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in a 4-2 series loss to the New York Knicks.

Maxey was the No. 21 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

In the past week, three other former Wildcats have signed (or will sign) long-term extensions. Miami’s Bam Adebayo has agreed to a three-year contract extension, reportedly worth $166 million. The Denver Nuggets are working to sign Jamal Murray to a four-year, $209 million extension, and the Toronto Raptors will ink Immanuel Quickley to a five-year extension worth $175 million.

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