The Philadelphia 76ers are entering a pivotal offseason. With the firing of Daryl Morey, the organization is searching for a new President of Basketball Operations for the first time in six seasons. While the Sixers and interim president Bob Myers' search for the next president is likely to take precedence over the next few weeks, the team should also recognize that they still need to fully evaluate where their roster stands.
Looking back on the roster and how the players performed, it's especially worth looking at how one of the team's more important players, "The Franchise," as some would say, performed.
This season, Tyrese Maxey had the breakout fans were waiting for, and arguably even exceeded expectations in what was the best year of his career.
With career highs in assists, rebounds, minutes and points per game, Maxey broke out from an All-Star caliber player to an All-NBA caliber player. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged a jaw-dropping 28.9 points per game for the Sixers this season across 70 games.
Maxey opened this season on fire for the Sixers. Over the first two months of the season, he was among the top scoring leaders, leading Philadelphia to a 10-9 record. During those first 19 games, Maxey also managed to top 40 points twice. He even considered a dark-horse MVP candidate during the early portion of the season. As the year went on, he started to cool off and was able to take on a little bit less due to the play of Joel Embiid and Paul George, as well as fatigue from his heavy usage.
By the time they reached the playoffs, Maxey was still clearly dealing with fatigue and, at times, a little too passive offensively. Even still, he had an excellent playoff run, averaging 23.7 points and 5.9 assists per game on 45.5% shooting from the field. Against the Boston Celtics in particular, Maxey was key to the team's surprising series victory. In seven games against the Celtics, Maxey scored 26.9 points per game on 41.8% shooting from beyond the arc.
While Maxey’s terrific season may not have ended as planned with the Sixers getting swept by the New York Knicks in the second round, Maxey still was able to leave a lasting impression on fans this year. His combination of grit and leadership is something fans have latched onto this season. The Sixers are lucky to have a player of his caliber as one of the cornerstones for their team for the foreseeable future.
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