The transition from college to the NBA is always a tough one, but during the 2020-21 season, that challenge is met with even tougher circumstances.
The rookies coming into the league have to make that transition as quickly as possible as there is a very little amount of time before they play their first game in the league. The draft was Nov. 18 and opening night in the league is Dec. 22 so there is a very quick turnaround.
Philadelphia 76ers rookie Tyrese Maxey had it even tougher as he was not even able to be with the team to begin training camp after a quick bout with COVID-19. That led him to miss the first week of camp and having to watch practice through Zoom.
However, he is ready to go now and the Zoom experience helped him a lot.
“Yessir, I feel great and ready to go,” said Maxey. “It was nice to watch practice and stay in flow and in tune. It was an easy transition when I got on the court.”
It was pretty easy for Maxey to watch things on film and be able to learn how coach Doc Rivers wants to run things before he did get out on the floor. The rookie understands the game very well and his ability to go through all of that was very helpful for him before things got underway.
“You pick up on certain things watching film over and over because you get to replay it and different things like that,” he explained. “It’s not in real-time so you break it down in slow motion and still frame, but it was good to see it today and see it in person and hearing different coach’s voices and. I’m just ready to get out there.”
The good thing for Maxey was that he did not have any severe symptoms. He was still able to have his energy and he was able to continue to get his work in despite his positive test.
“One thing I did was I asked my mom, as soon as I tested positive, is bring everything to my little section [of the house] and I’ll lift weights and do different things like that just try to stay in tune,” Maxey added. “I had no symptoms other than I lost my taste and smell but it is weird being at home in your room having to act like you’re sick, and just staying safe because I didn’t want any of my family members to get it.”
Now that Maxey is here and ready to roll, there is little doubt that he will be able to get in and run right away. The work he put in over the summer definitely helped him in that regard.
“I don’t think it’ll take that long to catch up, honestly just because of the work that I put in prior to it,” Maxey said. “That was one of my main emphasis during the summer was I was going to be in the best shape of my life. Getting back on the court today and a little bit last night was kind of a smooth transition. A little bit tired, but I still felt the same type of energy, same type of bounce.” [lawrence-related id=39994,39991,39988]