Fresh off an All-NBA season, Philadelphia’s star guard is weaponizing elite rim pressure and evolving playmaking to transform from a high-volume scorer into a dominant floor general.
Tyrese Maxey has already become one of the best guards in basketball, but the exciting part for the Philadelphia 76ers is that his game still does not feel complete.
That may sound strange after the best season of his career. Maxey averaged 28.3 points, 6.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.9 steals while shooting 46.2 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from three, and 89.2 percent from the free-throw line. He earned his first All-NBA selection, landing on the Third Team after carrying a massive offensive workload for a Sixers team that dealt with injuries, inconsistency, and constant pressure from fans and the front office.
Those numbers already put Maxey in elite company. He finished fifth in the league in scoring and 15th in assists. He was also elite at generating points at the rim; his 6.1 rim attempts per game put him in the 100th percentile league-wide. He finished 64% of those opportunities, a solid percentage that looks better when you consider his volume.
The biggest area where he can still grow is playmaking. Maxey is already a good passer, but the next step is becoming a more manipulative one. His speed bends defenses naturally. When he gets downhill, help defenders have to collapse. Bigs have to step up. Weak-side defenders have to tag rollers or stunt toward shooters. That is where Maxey can become even more dangerous: using his rim pressure not only to score but also to create clean, easy shots for everyone else.
Maxey has already shown flashes of that growth. His 30-point, 11-rebound, seven-assist performance in Game 7 against Boston was a perfect example of how much pressure he can put on a defense without forcing the game. He scored efficiently, got others involved, and helped Philadelphia close out a 109-100 win in a hostile environment.
But over a full season, the next level is about consistency. Can Maxey punish traps faster? Can he hit the weak-side corner earlier? Can he keep his dribble alive long enough to force the second defender to fully commit? Can he become more comfortable throwing pocket passes, skip passes, and reading defensive sets?
Those small improvements would make a major difference, especially if Philadelphia continues building around Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. Maxey’s scoring already scares defenses. If his passing becomes even more consistent, teams will have fewer ways to slow him down.
There is also room for him to become a more fluid shot creator. Maxey can already score from all three levels, but some of his toughest possessions still rely heavily on speed. The more counters, the less predictable he becomes.
The foundation is already there. Maxey has the speed, work ethic, scoring touch, and confidence to be the face of Philadelphia’s next era. Now the question is whether he can turn elite production into elite command and leadership.
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Wes Dixon is a contributing writer to 76ersRoundtable. He can be reached at [email protected].
