NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS — Tyrese Maxey has cemented his spot as one of the faces of the Philadelphia 76ers franchise. His rise from young buck to franchise cornerstone has matched the unreal on-court speed that propelled him. Although he's still one of the younger players on the team, he's setting out to establish himself as a leader, especially for young players.
Littered throughout the Sixers' veteran-laden roster are some youngsters, namely rookie guard Jared McCain. Maxey leads by example with his exceptional work ethic but also wants to offer advice and assistance to McCain, Ricky Council IV, Adem Bona and others as the season approaches.
A former teammate, Tobias Harris, helped push him to be that type of teammate. After the Sixers' second day of training camp, Maxey said that he recently talked with Harris, now of the Detroit Pistons, and that his former teammate is pushing him to continue being a great leader.
“I've been talking to [McCain] since he got drafted. I'm just trying to give back as much as I can,” Maxey said. “I know I'm young still, but [I'm] trying to give back. I talked to Tobias Harris last night. He did a lot for me, man. He gave back to me every single day. Poured into me every single day since I got drafted. So, you know, he told me to keep that tradition going and I said I'm trying to do that.”
Tobias Harris inspired Tyrese Maxey to be a leader for 76ers
Although the Sixers gunning for Paul George showed their desire to upgrade over the starting forward spot Harris held for the last five seasons, those who played and worked with him rave about his professionalism and leadership. While Harris moves on to the next part of his NBA journey, Maxey won’t let his good deeds go unrewarded.
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The 76ers' rising star guard is motivated to become an even better player and be a similarly supportive veteran for the new crop of youngsters. The results so far have been promising.
“He's more assertive, I would say,” Kelly Oubre Jr. said of Maxey on Tuesday. “He was vocal last year. He's just more assertive, man. I think he's obviously confident. He's coming to his own and he has made a name for himself in this league, which he was trying to do last year and he did that. He's just more assertive, man, more confident and definitely a better leader than he was last year, for sure.”
Maxey added that he went out to eat Tuesday night with McCain and Bona, the 76ers' latest draft picks. He'll surely do a lot more for the young players to make their transition to the NBA as seamless as possible.
