CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers were unable to see much of Joel Embiid and Paul George in the 2024-25 season as both players dealt with injuries that limited them in big ways, but it did allow Tyrese Maxey to step up and take the reins as the No. 1 option.
Maxey averaged a career-high 26.3 points in 2024-25 despite his shooting percentages dropping due to the defensive attention he received on a nightly basis. There were times he struggled with–naturally–but he continued to get better at handling that responsibility as the season wore on.
As he continues to move forward with his offensive game, and stretches where he will be the No. 1 option on most nights, Maxey draws on his past experiences as he grows as a No. 1 guy.
“When I got to late December, January, I feel like I really started to figure out how to manipulate the game, manipulate the defense,” Maxey stated. “I think you could see that in my production.”
Maxey, in fact, learned an important lesson from Embiid on how to manipulate NBA defenses.
“Now, I’m going to tell a joke,” Maxey continued. “Nobody laugh. My rookie year through my third year, I used to get so angry sometimes at Joel when he’d be getting double-teamed. I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m wide open.’ And he’s like, ‘Bro, I can’t see you.’ Then (opponents) started double-teaming me and people were like, ‘Bro, I’m open.’ I said, ‘Trust me, I really can’t see you.’ But I’ve got a lot of film on it and I’ve had a lot of time to work on it. I do feel a lot more confident in it and I think it’ll work out well for us.”
In terms of how to simulate those double teams in the offseason when there is no practice and everybody is off doing their own thing, Maxey called up his friends to make things happen.
“I have a lot of friends,” he finished. “A lot of good friends that I’ve been friends with since high school. Anytime I go to Dallas or LA, sometimes they can help me out a little bit. They get free trips to LA, so they can do some work.”
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey reveals what he learned about being a No. 1 option
