How Tyrese Maxey's Jump At The Rim Is Spearheading His Leap To Superstardom

When Jabari Walker watches from the sideline, he can't help but feel like a fan.

It's a charming, humanizing effect. One that levels Walker, a 99th-percentile athlete, with just about every other person in the building.

"I just feel like I'm witnessing history. I see his approach every day," Walker says with a smile after a Sunday practice in early December.

He wouldn't expect the face of the Sixers to be as "cool and encouraging" as he is.

Tyrese Maxey is regularly making shots at the rim that would make the most experienced HORSE players blush in their driveways.

He's not getting caught up in his own paint artistry. For a guy who can hang in the air to do the impossible, Maxey stays remarkably grounded.

"Sometimes you don't even feel like the moment is as important as it is, just because of how free he makes you feel," Walker says in admiration. "I feel like if it was a tied game, he would trust me to shoot the last shot. That's just how he is as a person. So, cool guy.

"Big fan of Tyrese, just his mentality, how he is as a person."

Maxey has kicked the door to superstardom open through his team's first 23 games this season.

His three-point shooting has been outrageous. His defense has leveled up. His motor to maintain it on both ends has been nothing short of phenomenal. But the thing that has accentuated Maxey's diverse set of skills most might just be his finishing at the rim.

Season	FG% at rim
2020-21	59%
2021-22	63%
2022-23	59%
2023-24	63%
2024-25	59%
2025-26	63%

Maxey's best seasons at the rim have all been "leap" years in his career. He burst onto the scene in 2021-22, got selected to his first All-Star team in 2023-24 and is making a leap into firm superstardom in 2025-26.

"I think the biggest thing is because I'm willing to shoot some mid-range shots, it slows my pace down," Maxey said after a Dec. 4 win over the Golden State Warriors. "So there's a couple times I get in there, I'm like, 'Maybe I'll shoot the middie this time, or a floater'. Going back to the floater kind of changed it."

Maxey's introspection supports the data from Cleaning The Glass shown above.

The NBA's shooting data for this season makes the pattern even more clear.

Shot distance	FGA	FG%
Less than 8 ft.	211	54%
8-16 ft.	63	50.8%
16-24 ft.	37	40.5%

We can break it down by shot area, too.

Shot area	FGA	FG%
Restricted area	145	62.1%
In the paint (non-RA)	107	41.1%
Midrange	59	45.8%

Whichever way you want to look at it, Maxey is either blowing away his previous career highs in efficiency or is on pace to blow away his previous career highs in volumes.

In its simplest form, the bigger the threat he poses between the three-point arc and the rim, the more the game opens up for him. If he falls in love with the three, Maxey sometimes lets the defense off the hook. If he falls in love with the rim, the defense pinches on Maxey's driving lane or sends late help to disrupt him at the basket.

"So the big is there in between, 'Is he going to shoot a floater? Is he going to shoot a layup?'. That's kind of helped me," Maxey explained. "And then just playing off two steps instead of always going right-right or left-left. Using my euros and my counters and using two feet when I get in the paint."

It's a balancing act. And Maxey is controlling it like never before.

He's reached a new level of proficiency at making shots like this:

Maxey rejects ball screen and probes for stepback midrange jumper @ Detroit Pistons. pic.twitter.com/ZQuylnlt5e
— Austin Krell’s Film Room (@AKFilmRoom) December 11, 2025

The gravitational pull of those shots is lifting defenders away from the rim to help, setting him up for scores like this:

Maxey blows by James Harden, gets behind lifted Zubac for layup vs LA Clippers. pic.twitter.com/X6kN5XITJY
— Austin Krell’s Film Room (@AKFilmRoom) December 11, 2025

"Obviously he is getting there quite a bit. I think he's showing some variety. It's not always the right side, right hand. But I think that's one thing. There's some reverse, there's some left hand. There's some floaters mixed in there, too," Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said before the game against the Warriors.

"So I think he's making some good decisions on where he sees the opening. Sometimes it's all the way, sometimes it isn't quite all the way. Sometimes it's the other side of the hoop. All that kind of stuff, I think that is helping him a lot."

As the acrobatic plays at the hoop pile up, Maxey is making the leap into the top levels of the league's hierarchy.