Tyrese Maxey's Finger Injury Has the Sixers' Season on Life Support

There's still a month left in the 2025-26 NBA regular season, but for all intents and purposes, the Sixers' season might have ended Saturday night.

Late in the Sixers' 126-119 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Maxey and Adem Bona collided, which left Maxey grimacing and clutching his right pinky finger. On Sunday, the Sixers announced that Maxey suffered a sprain of that finger and will miss at least the next two games as he undergoes further testing.

If Maxey is sidelined for longer than that, the Sixers could be in grave danger of a late-season nosedive.

Joel Embiid has missed the past four games due to an oblique injury that he suffered against the Miami Heat in late February. That was only his second game back after he missed the previous five with a right shin ailment that began prior to the All-Star break. He's already been ruled out for the next three games.

Meanwhile, Paul George is only 16 games into his 25-game suspension for a violation of the NBA's anti-drug policy. He isn't eligible to play again until March 25.

Maxey was already the Sixers' last max-contract player left standing. His career-high and team-leading 29.0 points per game are the main reason why they're above .500 this last in the year. Without the pressure that he puts on a defense, the Sixers' offense could go off the rails until Embiid and/or George return.

There's no replacing Maxey

Maxey is leading the Sixers in scoring, assists (6.7), three-pointers (3.3), steals (2.0) and shot attempts (21.9) in a league-high 38.3 minutes per game this season. As long as he plays at least four more games, he's a virtual lock for his first-ever All-NBA nod.

Maxey is also second on the Sixers in usage rate at 29.9%, trailing only Embiid (33.8%). He's lapping the field with his 29.8% assist rate, too. Embiid is second on the team in that metric at 22.5%.

At the age of 25, Maxey has transformed himself into one of the best—if not the best—three-level scorers in franchise history. Allen Iverson was craftier around the basket, but he was nowhere near the three-point shooter that Maxey is. After shooting a disappointing 33.7% from deep last year (his worst since his rookie season), Maxey is back up to 37.3% on nearly nine attempts per game this season.

At least for the next two games, the Sixers now have only four other guards on their roster who can soak up minutes, and one of them is questionable for Monday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. VJ Edgecombe suffered a lumbar contusion during the Sixers' loss to the San Antonio Spurs last Tuesday and has missed their past two games.

If Edgecombe can't go Monday, the Sixers will be down to Quentin Grimes, Cam Payne and Kyle Lowry in their backcourt. They also won't have Embiid or George, and the Cavaliers will likely come in frustrated by their loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday. That's the recipe for a rout. (If only they still had Jared McCain…)

After that, the Sixers return home for the second night of a back-to-back against the Memphis Grizzlies. The good news is that the Grizzlies have zero interest in winning games for the rest of the season. The bad news is that the Brooklyn Nets don't either, but that didn't stop them from beating the Cade Cunningham-less Detroit Pistons on Friday.

Until the Sixers get any of their Big Three back, they're facing tough sledding.

Silver linings (playbook)?

With 19 games left in the season, the Sixers have a seven-game lead over the 11th-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis and Co. are still fighting for a postseason spot, but it would take a monumental meltdown for the Bucks to jump the Sixers in the Eastern Conference standings.

A long-term Maxey injury could be the trigger for that exact sort of thing.

There's no guarantee that Maxey returns Thursday against the Detroit Pistons. The Sixers announced that he's getting further testing before they establish a treatment plan. If that testing determines he has a serious injury, it's always possible that he's done until the playoffs or is out for the season outright.

With their loss to the Hawks combined with the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic's ongoing win streaks, the Sixers have now slipped one game behind them to eighth in the East. They're still 1.5 games up on the Hawks, although the Hawks have the tiebreaker over them after sweeping the season series. They're three games up on the 10th-seeded Charlotte Hornets, who've been one of the NBA's hottest teams since the calendar flipped to 2026.

Unless Embiid and/or Maxey return soon, the Sixers might fall in too steep of a hole to climb out of when it comes to landing a top-six seed and a guaranteed playoff spot. If Embiid, Maxey and George are all healthy in the play-in tournament, they'll likely be favored over whomever they face, but that's a big if.

The bigger problem is that falling into the play-in will likely result in a first-round series against the Detroit Pistons or Boston Celtics. The Celtics are suddenly the favorites in the East after Jayson Tatum's return, while the Pistons have been atop the conference for most of the season.

The fully healthy Sixers would have matchup advantages over either team, but they'd be clear underdogs against both. If any of the Big Three aren't available, the NBA might as well sim-to-end that entire series. The Sixers would be lucky to push it past five games.

Even if the Sixers do finish in the top six, a first-round date with the New York Knicks or Cleveland Cavaliers wouldn't be cakewalk, either. The Sixers might be live underdogs if they have all three of Embiid, Maxey and George in the playoffs, but they're unlikely to go on a deep run regardless.

Still, the security of a guaranteed playoff spot makes it far more appealing than a berth in the play-in tournament, particularly for a team as top-heavy as the Sixers.

Maxey's injury might drastically decrease the likelihood of that. That could effectively be lights-out on this year's team—and perhaps this Sixers core, too.