Philadelphia 76ers: Tyrese Maxey shines in his preseason debut

Tyrese Maxey has ‘fan-favorite’ written all over him, Philadelphia 76ers fans.

Welp, it only took Tyrese Maxey 12 preseason minutes to immediately capture the hearts of Philadelphia 76ers fans the world over – what a totally shocking, not in any way predictable development.

I know, I know, getting irresponsibly excited about how a rookie plays in the fourth quarter of a preseason game is practically a South Philly institution akin to Water Ice, Cheesesteaks, and Roast Pork sandwiches, but there’s a reason for that: It’s really, really fun.

After reading – or writing – all about the team’s offseason moves, their developments, and their challenges, the preseason allows basketball lovers to finally sit back, (try to) relax, and see how this particular season’s product looks in comparison to the year prior.

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In that regard, I think it’s safe to say the addition of Doc Rivers, Danny Green, Seth Curry, and Dwight Howard get universally glowing grades. The offense looked effortless more than it didn’t – a unicorn in Brett Brown‘s belabored 2019-20 attack – and the team’s pick-pocketing ways were on full display thanks to nine steals from the starting five alone. If the Sixers can develop a bit more of an offensive flow that can really only be generated by shared minutes on the court, this squad could easily represent the East in the NBA Finals regardless of the upgrades made to the Nets, Bucks, and Celtics.

But this particular game also gave fans their first glimpse of rookie first-round pick Tyrese Maxey in a red, white, and blue number 0 jersey, and objectively speaking, so far, so good.

While he didn’t get into the game until the start of the fourth quarter, the 20-year-old Kentucky product played all 12 of its minutes and shone through playing alongside fellow youngsters and veterans alike. Sure, he didn’t attempt a 3, arguably the biggest question mark surrounding the rookie coming out of college, but he looked effortless getting the offense into plays, kept an eye open for open shooters, and knocked down runners like it was 1999. Though some may overlook his performance due to Shake Milton‘s clinic as Rivers’ top reserve coming off the bench, Maxey was able to score eight points on 4-6 shooting from the field while recording a rebound and three assists versus only one turnover.

If Maxey can replicate that stat line in the regular season, it’s pretty safe to say he won’t be playing 12 minutes of action a night for very long.

For what it’s worth, the Sixers had another rookie make his on-court debut as well in second-round pick Isaiah Joe, who played six minutes and scored two points from the line. Though he’s largely known for his prolifically streaky 3 point shot in college – averaging 10.6 a game as a sophomore at Arkansas – fans will have to wait a little longer to see him drain one from NBA range, as he missed both attempts he took in the waning moments of the game.

But surely the fourth quarter wasn’t about that. Would it have been nice to see Joe hit a pair of daggers? Most definitely, but it was Maxey’s poise, aggressiveness, and basketball intelligence that was on full display when the Sixers took the court in the fourth – that, and the return of Justin ‘Simba’ Anderson; that was pretty cool for old-school ‘Processheads’ like yours truly.

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While I personally won’t be putting too much stock into how anyone performs in the team’s second and final preseason game of the season on Friday, it’s clear all of the ‘steal of the draft’ talk Tyrese Maxey received was justified. Even if the team takes his progression slow a la Shake Milton last season, it’s pretty safe to say the Philadelphia 76ers’ knocked their 2020 first-round pick out of the park – with only good things to follow moving forward for the soon-to-be fan favorite.