Tyrese Maxey Continuing to Show Support for his 76ers Co-Star

76ers guard doing what he can to try and uplift Joel Embiid.

Feb 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) reacts with guard Tyrese Maxey (0) against the Dallas Mavericks in the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

For the majority of this season, Tyrese Maxey has been leading the charge for the Philadelphia 76ers. Along with doing what he can on the court, the former All-Star is attempting to uplift his teammates behind the scenes as well.

Heading into the year, Maxey was supposed to be part of the league's newest big three. That said, due to injuries, the Sixers' star trio as falling short of expectations in their early days together. One of the biggest factors of this is Joel Embiid, who is still battling limitations from the knee injury he suffered around this time a year ago.

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Sixers officially began their push to try and get into the play-in and salvage this season. However, things have not gone their way out of the gates. They suffered a blowout loss to the Boston Cetlics Thursday, and then dropped a matchup to the Brooklyn Nets after a last-second tip-in from Nic Claxton.

Despite having a week off from playing, Embiid has not looked like himself. Nick Nurse made the drastic decision to bench him in the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss as he continues to deal with physical limitations. This move comes on the heels of Embiid openly admitting he's not the player he was a year ago after Thursday's meeting with the Celtics.

As someone who has grown alongside Embiid in the NBA, Maxey shares a close bond with the former MVP. Following Saturday's heartbreaking loss, he opened up on trying to uplift and support Embiid as attempts to give the Sixers what he can.

“It’s definitely difficult," Maxey told reporters postgame. "The last four years, he’s been pretty dominant every single time he steps on the floor… I just try to keep his head up, check on him every now and then.”

With Embiid clearly not 100%, it falls on Maxey to be the focal point for the Sixers in these final weeks of the regular season. His next chance at helping the team make up ground in the standings will be Monday night in a crucial matchup with the Chicago Bulls.

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