Tyrese Maxey Enjoyed Playing With Josh Giddey at Rising Stars Challenge

Following an impressive 19-point performance against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey didn't head back to Philadelphia with the rest of the team.

Instead, Maxey took a trip to Cleveland, Ohio, to participate in the NBA All-Star weekend festivities.

"It's been crazy," said Maxey. "We're coming off of a big win right before All-Star break. It took us a long time to take off. I think I ended up getting here, I think at five o'clock? I fell asleep around six, and I had to be up at 8:30, and I've been awake ever since."

On Friday night, Maxey was slated to play in the NBA's Rising Stars Challenge. As the second-year guard was voted in with other sophomores, Maxey was drafted to Team Worthy, linking up with other Rising Star prospects such as Cole Anthony, MarJon Beauchamp, Josh Giddey, Jalen Green, Herbert Jones, and Jalen Suggs.

After Maxey's lone game in the Rising Stars Challenge, he revealed that he had tons of fun participating, despite scoring zero points. And when asked about who he connected with during the game, Maxey revealed he's a big fan of Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Josh Giddey.

Praise for Giddey

"I got to talk a little bit with Josh Giddey," said Maxey. "I like watching him play. He plays so free and has a lot of fun when he plays. He brings joy and excitement to the game. And he's young, so he'll probably be around for a long time. It was cool getting to talk to him."

While Maxey already knew a lot of the other players involved since he was in the same draft class as them, he was happy to get to know Giddey specifically, as it seems they didn't know much about each other before.

Giddey, who entered the 2021 NBA Draft straight out of the NBL overseas, has had a solid debut season for himself so far. Starting in all 53 games he appeared in with the Thunder, Giddey has averaged 12 points and six assists while shooting 42-percent from the field and 27-percent from three.

Like Maxey and all of the other Rising Stars participants, Giddey still has a lot of developing to do in the NBA. But most players involved in Friday's event have bright futures ahead of them, and the players seem to be rooting for each other's futures.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.