Tyrese Maxey quickly became the leader of the Philadelphia 76ers.
With Joel Embiid continuing to battle an injury and Paul George’s performance on the court, Tyrese Maxey could very well be the best player this season for the Philadelphia 76ers as they look to make the playoffs.
The Sixers are having another dark year after an injury-plagued offseason. However, there is some hope for the future. Maxey is 24 years old and ready to take the franchise forward as a star, and young center Adem Bona had a solid rookie season.
Bona, a second-round pick, proved to be a solid defender for Philadelphia, averaging one block per game. He will be an essential part of the team without Embiid.
Maxey praised Bona’s progress during the preseason, but had one major complaint about his young teammate’s game.
At 6-foot-8, Bona is an impressive rim protector, rebounder, and lob threat. He’s exactly the type of player point guards like Maxey love to play with, and he’s quick to praise his teammates’ development.
But Maxey remained frustrated with Bona’s inability to stay on the floor as he was in foul trouble.
“I think he’s playing really well. The only issue I have with Bona is he stops fouling. ‘Stop fouling, dude.'” As I understand it, the ball is right there. He’s like, “The ball was right in front of me.” That’s how I got there. ‘No, don’t do that. But he’s doing well, really well. ”
Bona bites into every pump fake with a constant desire to block shots. This gets him into foul trouble and frequently forces opponents to the foul line. In the Sixers’ three preseason games so far, Bona has picked up two quick fouls and is benched.
In the game against the Orlando Magic, Bona picked up his third foul with just under eight minutes left in the first half. He was in foul trouble and was only active for nine minutes before intermission.
This isn’t going to cut it for the Sixers as Embiid is recovering from injury, and Maxey is right to put this responsibility on his teammates. With so many injured, Philadelphia needs as many bodies as possible.
Maxey’s willingness to hold his teammates to high standards is a positive sign for the Sixers. If we want anything from this season, we need him to be our vocal leader.
As Embiid continued to suffer injuries, the relationship between the 76ers and Embiid deteriorated, causing rifts within the organization. He’s a superstar player when he’s on the court, but his playing time has decreased each season.
That being said, Philadelphia will be happy to welcome a new era this season. It’s time for Maxie to pick up the torch. He served as the secondary star on this Philadelphia team and showed last season that he could step up significantly and become a mainstay on the team.
Maxey’s 26 points per night is a career high, and he’s been getting better every year. However, this is not the season to perform on the court. He’s now the face of the franchise.
Maxey himself has said he needs to grow in Embiid’s absence and has been the team’s spokesperson over the summer. Maxey, along with other young teammates, has been praising rookie VJ Edgecomb all offseason.
If he’s ready for that role, this could be the year the 76ers transition from the Embiid era to the Maxey era. Maxie just needs to prove he’s good enough to take on the task.