Tyrese Maxey thanks Joel Embiid for being the first ‘who believed in me when I was a rookie’

We always knew Tyrese Maxey was going to be a great player in the NBA, but after James Harden’s departure from Philadelphia, we had no idea he was already a full-blown star for the Sixers. According to his own testimony, he thanks one key teammate for seeing the potential in him since day one. 

One of the main reasons why the 76ers are currently 20-8 in this 2023/24 NBA campaign, is due to the fact that Maxey was been clutch. Every fourth quarter, he appears like a superhero and leads his team to victory late in the game.

Even Joel Embiid has admitted that finding Tyrese in the fourth quarter has become a constant game plan for the Philadelphia squad. Last Friday night for example, the 23-year-old scored 17 of his 33 points in the final 12 minutes of his team’s 121-111 win against the Toronto Raptors.

“After practice and stuff, I see them together talking through a lot of things, working on a few things, just the two of them. I see them sitting there watching film together, the two of them.”

– Nick Nurse on the Embiid/Maxey duo pic.twitter.com/3c8B3rrNp8

— 𝘾 𝙝 𝙧 𝙞 𝙨 👽 (@sirembiid) December 22, 2023

In a recent interview with the young athlete, he revealed the Joel Embiid believed in him ever since he was a rookie for the 76ers. Maxey then explained how his co-star has played a great role in his confidence on the court.

“I think Joel is like literally one of the first people in this organization that really believed in me when I was a rookie,” the guard said. “He said it early that he felt like I could be special. Having that trust and confidence in the MVP of the league, best player in the world, I just go out there and can be myself.”

Last week, Embiid shared that his teammate is already one of the best in the league. “All-Star starter,” he said of Tyrese, who is averaging 26.4 points per game this season. “He has been doing that all season. Just give him the ball and he has been carrying us every single fourth quarter. You see what happens when he’s impressive.”

Maxey then replied: “He puts the responsibility on me because he believes in me. I go out there and try to put in the work and help him as much as I possibly can.”

Maxey addressed Christmas Day’s shooting nightmare which ended up as his career’s worst-offensive game

Philadelphia lost this Monday night to the Miami Heat and Tyrese took the most shots for his team. Unfortunately for him, only four out of his 20 attempts found the bottom of the net, in a game that ended 119-113.

“I mean, they did like the normal stuff that I see when I’m out there without Jo — the blitzing, some hard showing,” the 23-year-old said after the game. “But for the most part, I got some really good looks and some shots that I make, I don’t know, four, five times out of 10. So, I guess it’s just one of those days.”

Throughout his young career, Maxey has tried 20 field goals in a single game on 29 occasions. This Christmas Day match, saw him produce his worst-ever offensive game, with the next closest was seven baskets in total.

“Gotta flush it. It sucks,” the young guard said, then adding that “a lot of those looks are shots that I shoot every game. There was a couple times where I got a dude off balance, I got so much separation that I was open. It just didn’t go in. I missed three free throws. I hadn’t missed back-to-back free throws like that in a long time. It happens.”