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Viral Throwback Video of Tyrese Maxey, Victor Wembanyama Surfaces

As Tyrese Maxey and Victor Wembanyama battled it out on Sunday, a throwback video of the Philadelphia 76ers star working out with the Spurs' top pick surfaced.
Justin Grasso|
Apr 7, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) shoots in front of
Apr 7, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) shoots in front of | Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

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Philadelphia 76ersSan Antonio Spurs

On Sunday night, the Philadelphia 76ers engaged in a thrilling duel, which featured outstanding solo performances from both sides.

The first time these two teams met this season, all eyes were on the Joel Embiid versus Victor Wembanyama matchup, as it was the battle of two versatile bigs. At the time, Embiid put together the best scoring performance of his career by dropping 70 points.

Sunday’s game didn’t involve Embiid. Although the big man returned last week after an eight-week recovery period due to a knee injury, he got the night off on Sunday, which was the second game of a back-to-back set.

With Embiid out for the night, Tyrese Maxey took matters into his own hands. As Maxey battled it out against Wemby and the Spurs, an old video of the two former first-round picks re-surfaced, showing them working on their games in the offseason in 2022.

“Two years ago, got these two guys together,” trainer Tim Martin wrote on X. “Vic just wanted to work on defense, and Rese wanted to work on attacking the bigs off the switch. It was fun watching these guys go at it.”

Since this workout took place, Wembanyama became the NBA’s top pick in 2023, and Maxey earned his first All-Star nod. In their battle on Sunday night, neither player disappointed, as their skillset was on full display.

Wembanyama’s defense was as good as advertised as he blocked seven shots and grabbed 18 rebounds off the glass. Offensively, he led his team in scoring with 33 points and dished out six assists.

As for Maxey, he didn’t show fear attacking the basket one bit. While his three-point shot was clearly off, Maxey still found ways to fill up the stat sheet. He scored 52 points, which marked a new career-high. He also dished out seven assists, keeping turnovers to a minimum with just one on the night.

While it was a tough battle for both teams, requiring double-overtime to find a winner, the veteran star’s squad came out victorious. The Sixers put the Spurs away with a 133-126 win. The Sixers advanced to 44-35 on the year.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia

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