Sixers' Tyrese Maxey Makes NBA History Alongside Kyrie Irving

One of the biggest storylines for the Philadelphia 76ers this season was the emergence of Tyrese Maxey. The young guard was thrown into a big role, and proved he is capable of being a pillar for the franchise moving forward.

Following the departure of James Harden, Maxey was thrust into being the Sixers’ lead guard. He’s consistently worked on being more than a scorer, and it showed this season. Along with averaging a career-high 25.9 PPG, the first-time All-Star also dished out over six assists per game.

What stood out most from Maxey’s play as a facilitator was his ability to take care of the basketball. Despite constantly having the ball in his hands, he averaged under two turnovers per game. This impressive play put Maxey in the history books alongside another one of the NBA’s top guards.

The Sixers star finished the year as one of two players in the NBA to average at least 25 points, five assists, and under two turnovers. Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks also accomplished this feat. Prior to this, no other player in history has averaged such a stat line for an entire season.

.@sixers @TyreseMaxey was one of two @NBA players (Dallas' @KyrieIrving) this season to average 25 points, five assists, and fewer than two turnovers per game.

They are the first two players in @NBAHistory to hold such averages for a full season.

h/t @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/x7aBVHmznT
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) April 15, 2024

Following this breakout campaign from Maxey in the regular season, the Sixers are now going to rely on him even more. Finishing in seventh place, they have to battle in the play-in tournament to advance to the postseason.

On Wednesday night, the Sixers will take on the Miami Heat for the seventh seed. This is a team Maxey has had success against recently. When these teams faced off at the beginning of the month, he nearly notched a triple-double in a crucial win.