Tyrese Maxey kept the Philadelphia 76ers season alive with a huge Game 5 performance against the New York Knicks. He finished with 46 points, five rebounds and nine assists in the 112-106 overtime win. The 2023-24 Kia NBA Most Improved Player shot 17-30 from the field, 7-12 from three-point range and 5-8 from the free-throw line. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter – including seven points in the final 25 seconds.
ESPN NBA Front Office Insider Bobby Marks claimed that the one-time All-Star may have surpassed Joel Embiid as the face of the franchise. Speaking on Unsportsmanlike, the former assistant general manager stated:
I think Tyrese Maxey – not just last night and certainly during the series and certainly during this year – I think he’s the face of the franchise. I don’t think it’s Joel Embiid. I think Maxey is more reliable. I think you know what you’re going to get. As dominant as Embiid can be in games, I think Tyrese Maxey is the face of the franchise.
Maxey had a great season with Embiid in-and-out of the lineup. The fourth-year guard set career-highs across the board, averaging 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. He shot 45.0% from the field, 37.3% from three-point range and 86.8% from the free-throw line.
His performance has risen over the first five games of the postseason. Maxey is averaging 32.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 7.2 apg, 0.6 spg and 0.4 bpg on 50.0/42.9/87.5% shooting splits. Despite his strong play – and Embiid’s struggles to stay on the court – it is hard not to feel like Marks’ comments are not a result of being a prisoner of the moment after the seven-time All-Star struggled in Game 5. It was just last season when the two-time scoring champion was named the league MVP.
ESPN analyst claims Tyrese Maxey could be the future face of the league
Tyrese Maxey has improved in each of his four seasons in the NBA. While he had a strong season, he may fall short of his first All-NBA selection. Despite this, ESPN’s Andraya Carter believes the 2023-24 Kia NBA Most Improved Player should be in the conversation for future face of the league. Speaking on Get Up, she stated:
Tyrese Maxey has to be in the conversation for future face of the league.
She cited Maxey’s big performance when the Philadelphia 76ers needed it. While he had a great game – and likely has multiple All-Star selections in his future – Carter, like Bobby Marks, appears to be a prisoner of the moment. The one-time All-Star deserves plenty of praise, however, he has a long way to go before he will be put in discussions as the future face of the league.
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