Tyrese Maxey Majorly Disrespected in Early NBA All-Star Voting Results

Philadelphia 76ers starting point guard Tyrese Maxey is having a breakout season playing next to reigning MVP Joel Embiid. The former first-round pick has increased his scoring from 20.3 points last season to a career-high 25.3 points per game.

Based on his performance this season, many fans believe that Maxey should be a lock to be in the NBA All-Star Game, let alone start for the Eastern Conference. However, that’s not the case after the first NBA All-Star fan voting returns.

Sixers News: Maxey Snubbed After First Fan Vote

The 23-year-old Maxey is currently ranked fifth in backcourt voting (480,062) in the East for next month’s NBA All-Star Game. 

For Sixers fans, seeing Maxey in fifth place was good but slightly disrespectful as he has played better than most of the point guards ahead of him, not named Tyrese Haliburton. 

Damian Lillard is ranked second in voting at the guard spot and is averaging 25.4 points, 6.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds. He’s also shooting 42.8% from the field and 36.2% from three-point range. 

Even though Lillard hasn’t had many top games this season with the Bucks, it’s still hard to say that Maxey should be over him, as Milwaukee has the second-best record in the East.

When you look at Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell, however, both Atlanta and Cleveland have worse records than the Sixers. 

Young is ranked second in the NBA in assists per game (11.3) and averaging 28.3 points per game, but isn’t equaling up to a lot of wins for the Hawks (14-19). Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are 19-15 in seventh place in the East despite Mitchell producing 27.7 points, 5.6 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game.

As for Maxey, he and Embiid have been the main catalysts behind the Sixers’ early season success.

The former University of Kentucky standout went from a 20.3 point per game scorer in 2022 to 25 points per game this season and is the team’s full-time starting point guard. Remember, Maxey was the third option behind Embiid and James Harden last season.

Maxey has a 50-point performance under his belt this season and a 42-point performance on Dec. 29 against the Houston Rockets without Embiid. The 23-year-old point guard has taken his game to another level this season under Nick Nurse and is one of the more exciting scorers in the NBA.

With an All-Star appearance potentially not in the cards, Sixers fans will need to take solace in the fact that Maxey is already a heavy favorite for Most Improved Player.

Even though Maxey isn’t getting much love after the first round of fan voting, Sixers fans can cash in big for $150 guaranteed for backing their team on FanDuel. New FanDuel Sportsbook customers can deposit $10 or more through the exclusive Section 215 link below, and when you bet $5 on the Sixers next game you'll unlock a guaranteed $150 bonus. Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook now!

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