Nick Nurse's Teams Have Developed Two Star Guards. How Are They Different?

Nick Nurse knew Tyrese Maxey all too well by the time he arrived in Philadelphia to accept the crown vacated by Doc Rivers.

He has not-so-fond memories of coaching against the Sixers' young guard.

"Tyrese, we could never stop the guy when we were trying to coach against him," Nurse told reporters before the Sixers' loss to the New York Knicks on Saturday.

Maxey tortured the Raptors in a first-round playoff series in 2022, averaging 21 points and five assists per game on 58-percent shooting on twos and 40-percent shooting on threes. Philadelphia won that series, four games to two.

Nurse was there to see homegrown prospect Fred VanVleet play a core role in the Raptors' 2019 title run and flourish into an All-Star some years later.

He's been there to oversee Maxey take the leap from third option to All-Star reserve and from All-Star reserve to All-Star starter.

What's it been like to coach two very different types of guards to All-Star leaps?

"Listen, they're both unbelievable players. I think you see that. I've talked to you guys a lot about seeing [Tyrese] when I wasn't here. Fred was kind of right there, in-house," Nurse said.

To the Sixers' head coach, they simply have "a lot of specialness to them". But he's not blind to their differences.

"If we had a race from one end of the court to the other, Tyrese is going to win that pretty handily. But Fred's also incredibly quick side-to-side. He's got some athleticism. He's incredibly strong," Nurse said.

They may differ in their physical attributes and skill sets, but Nurse has identified the things they have in common. It is those overlapping ingredients that separated the two guards from the pack.

"They both are mentally great, both work incredibly hard. Both see things in an amazing positive way" said Nurse.

VanVleet was one of the last remaining stars keeping the best era of Raptors basketball afloat. He was one of the las remaining pieces connecting the team to its championship heyday, even as the franchise strayed away from that glory. He's a massive G League success story.

Maxey, on the other hand, is a young guard ascending to superstar status in the NBA. He's a product of the mentality and positive mindset that Nurse mentioned, living by his "get one pecent better every day" motto.

Now, only a championship ring separates the two guards.