The emergence of Tyrese Maxey as a top playmaker on both ends of the floor for the Philadelphia 76ers has injected a new level of excitement about the team’s future. Maxey, who’s entering his fourth year in the NBA, has progressively improved from not only a statistical standpoint but from the impact he makes in a variety of ways.
After averaging eight points and two assists as a rookie, Maxey doubled both of those numbers in year two, up to 17.5 points and 4.3 assists. He also improved as a shooter, bumping his field goal percentage from 46.2 percent to 48.5 and improving drastically from three-point range, knocking down 30.1 percent of his attempts as a rookie to 42.7 percent in his second year.
Now, following a third season in which Maxey posted career-highs in points per game (20.3) and three-point field goal percentage (43.4 percent), the former Kentucky Wildcats guard seems primed for a huge season, even with teammate James Harden’s future appearing very unlikely to be in Philadelphia.
From the recent comments made by new head coach Nick Nurse, he sounds like a believer in the fact that Maxey could be a nightmare for opposing defenses. Nurse stated that he thinks the guard could score so much that opponents are “going to start sending multipole bodies at him,” as Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin revealed.
…His shooting has really gotten good from deep. I want him to create more for others. I want him to see a little bit more of the floor and see where his teammates are, and eventually, when he’s scoring so much that they’re going to start sending multiple bodies at him, I want to be able to see who’s open.