milwaukee– philadelphia 76ers guard tyreese maxi Arguably the hardest-working player in the NBA this season.
His heavy workload is not hindering his production so far.
Maxi was already averaging an NBA-leading 40.3 minutes per game this season before he had a career-high 54 points and nine assists in 46½ minutes. 123-114 overtime win Above milwaukee bucks On Thursday.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Maxi and Wilt Chamberlain The only 76er player with at least 50 points and nine assists in a game.
“Blessed,” said Maxie. “I thank God for that. Whenever you’re talking to Wilt who scored 100 points, you can’t complain.”
Maxi’s remarkable performance came a night after playing 39 minutes in a 121-112 loss Toronto Raptors76ers lean even more on Maxi as injuries limit 2023 MVP’s availability joel embiid and six-time All-NBA wing paul george,
Embiid missed his sixth consecutive game Thursday because of a knee problem. George made his season debut on Monday after missing Philadelphia’s first 12 games while recovering from offseason surgery on his left knee.
Philadelphia (9-6) is above .500, largely thanks to Maxey, who is second in the league in scoring with an average of 33.4 points, behind only Los Angeles Lakers, luka doncic (34.6).
“He’s special,” George said. “He’s talented. I think what you guys don’t see and what comes up is game after game, 50, 45-plus minutes in a row, he goes and picks up. It shows who he is, why he’s where he is. I’ve been with a lot of great guys in this league. That’s what they do. They do things that keep them going, keep them strong, always working on themselves.”
Maxi played in his first All-Star Game in 2023–24, but he only played 52 games in 2024–25 as a right finger injury ended his season in early March. He made good use of his free time and said that he watches films every day in the off season.
He came back with a tenacity that has been evident the last few nights.
There was no guarantee that Maxi would even play on Thursday. He was listed as probable after injuring his right quadriceps against Toronto. He woke up, got treatment and decided that he would play as long as he could run effectively.
Then he wanted to improve on his performance in that Raptors game. Although he scored 24 points, he only took 14 shots.
“I definitely wasn’t as aggressive as I should have been,” Maxey said. “I got a head injury and I also got a quad injury, so it was a little tough for me.”
His teammates and coaches later told him he needed to shoot more than that. He responded Thursday by going 18 of 30 overall, 6 of 15 from 3-point range and 12 of 14 on free throw attempts. His two free throws with seven seconds remaining in the fourth quarter forced overtime.
After resting for more than half of the second quarter, Maxi never left the game after intermission.
“We usually have a little buzz out there to start the fourth,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “He didn’t want to discuss tonight. He wanted to stay in.”
Maxey said the Bucks’ decision to play zone defense for most of the second half helped them keep their energy levels relatively high.
“I didn’t have to move too much or work too hard to score or get the ball on offense, so I think just because of that I didn’t feel tired,” Maxey said. “The zone slowed the game down and took the stress off the body. I said, ‘Listen, I’m good. If you want me to stop, I can stop.’ They let me stop, so I finished the game.”
Maxi is willing to stay on the field as long as he needs to each game, even if it means leading the league in minutes played.
“I don’t really care,” Maxi said. “I just want to win. No matter how much I have to play to win, that’s what I’m going to do.”
