Tyrese Maxey has Officially Become the 'Face of the Franchise'

Despite losing their last two games, the Philadelphia 76ers are 5-3 on the season and are tied for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. This is much thanks to their 4-0 start, and though they’ve struggled over their last few games, they’ve played some of the best basketball that we’ve seen from them in quite a while. 

Additionally, Paul George has yet to play a game and will certainly be able to help fix some of the issues they’ve faced over their last four games. This is especially true as Embiid continues to recover from his surgery, with him already missing three games this season. 

With Embiid’s lack of impact, Tyrese Maxey has stepped up as the leader of the team. So far this season, he’s leading the NBA in scoring, averaging 33.5 PPG to go along with 5.1 RPG and 8.5 APG. While Maxey’s seen success in the past, he’s simply been playing at a different level this season, scoring at least 39 points in four of his eight games played. 

As Maxey has stepped into this new role, it’s become clear that the Sixers are giving him the keys to the organization. Since 2014, Philadelphia has been building the team around Embiid, and it’s been his team since he was drafted. 

When Maxey was drafted back in 2020, there were a lot of question marks about what he would become in the NBA, and despite some elite flashes in his rookie season, he didn’t look like he would become a franchise-leading player. Fortunately, he saw an incredible jump in his second season, averaging 17.5 PPG, which was a 9.5 point increase from his rookie year. 

That said, perhaps the most impressive aspect of his sophomore season was his three-point shooting numbers. The biggest concern about Maxey’s rookie campaign was his 30.1% shooting from beyond the arc. In his second season, however, he turned into one of the best shooters in the league, shooting 42.1% from the perimeter. 

Maxey has continued to improve each season since being drafted, being named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in the 2023-24 season, and going on to average a career-high 26.3 PPG last season over 52 games. 

Now, having another huge leap this season, he’s begun to show his capabilities as the team’s leading player. As hard as it is to admit, Embiid will never be the same player that he once was. Though it was just a couple of years ago that he won MVP, he appears to be past the point of trying to have an incredible statistical season. 

In all five of his games played this season, Embiid has been playing on a minutes restriction. While it’s proven to be difficult not having him in key moments this season, the Sixers have persevered, and the restriction has seemed to have been working so far, though it’s still early. 

If there’s one thing that we’ve learned over the last decade, it’s that Philly won’t see any playoff success without Embiid playing. Unfortunately, he’s been absent and/or playing hobbled in many of the team’s recent playoff runs, which has prevented them from making it past the second round. 

If Maxey’s able to average at least 28 points this season, he should be able to make up for Embiid’s lack of impact in the regular season. It’s very clear that the team just wants Embiid healthy for the postseason, so the rest of the team will need to step up to get them there.

Thankfully, with how the team has been playing so far, they look like a team that will at least make the postseason, even if it’s a low seed. If they’re in the playoffs with a healthy Embiid, they’ll have a great chance to make a run regardless of where they stand in the rankings. 

Additionally, if Maxey’s able to take control of the team and have a good feel for being the first option on the team by the playoffs, it will take a lot of pressure off Embiid. 

It’s almost unbelievable that we’re seeing this passing of the torch to Maxey already, as just two seasons ago, Embiid looked like the best player on the planet. Even so, the dynamic of this team has shifted, and so far it appears to be for the better. 

Whether or not Maxey will actually lead this team to a championship or not is up to speculation, but the one thing that’s for certain is that the Sixers trust him to. This isn’t to say they’ve given up on Embiid, but Maxey is clearly the future. 

Even with all of the experience under his belt, he’s still just 25 years old and has a great chance to have a very long NBA career. The more experience he has leading this team, the better, and it appears he’s getting his chance to start this season.