Sixers Rookie Tyrese Maxey Thankful to be Making NBA Debut
Tyrese Maxey fell in love with the process of working on his game. Soon, he'll have the opportunity to see it all pay off. After a highly successful High School career at South Garland in Texas, the former five-star recruit went off to play for the Kentucky Wildcats. In 28 starts during his freshman season, Maxey averaged 14 points-per-game in just under 35 minutes of action.
Although he had three years of NCAA eligibility left, Maxey took a gamble and declared for the 2020 NBA Draft. As a Kentucky standout, Maxey wasn't expected to drop into the 20s on draft night -- but he did.
After being passed up on 20 times on draft night, Maxey eventually found his next basketball home with the Philadelphia 76ers. A little over a month after getting drafted, the 20-year-old rookie is gearing up for his NBA debut on Wednesday night for the Sixers' season-opener against the Washington Wizards.
"The main thing that's going through my mind, first and foremost, is just being thankful for the opportunity," Maxey said following the 76ers' shootaround on Wednesday morning. "Everybody has a dream, and I was blessed to say that I made it. Now that I'm here, I'm not going to stop working. [I'm] going to try to maximize my potential."
Last week, Maxey made his NBA preseason debut in a matchup against the Boston Celtics. The rookie collected eight points off the bench after seeing the court for the entire fourth quarter. Following his preseason debut, Maxey earned the opportunity to check-in against the Indiana Pacers during the first half last Friday.
In 17 minutes of action, Maxey totaled for 11 points. Before the preseason started, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers hinted that the team's rookies might have difficulty earning any regular-season minutes this year, but Maxey's two preseason performances couldn't be ignored. And now, it seems the rookie could actually debut on Wednesday.
“[He'll be] one of our main bench guys,” Rivers said after practice on Tuesday. “I don’t have a minute thing circled for anybody. I don’t think I’ve done that in 20 years unless it’s a starter that was supposed to play 35 minutes, and they gave me a 10-minute minimum. I think he’s a terrific player. He has shown himself well, he will get minutes, but I’m not going to give you a number.”
While Maxey isn't aware of his specific role or how many minutes he'll acquire, the rookie guard is just happy to have the opportunity to play in the NBA right now. "I'm just gonna try to stay ready," Maxey said. "I'm gonna stay ready for whenever my name is called, and when I'm on the bench, I'll cheer my teammates on and be the biggest cheerleader when I'm not out there. At the end of the day, as long as we get the 'W,' that's all that matters."
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
