Tyrese Maxey Injury Throws 76ers Playoff Hopes Into Disarray

Tyrese Maxey won’t be seeing the court for a while in a devastating development for the 76ers’ playoff chances.

On Tuesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Maxey was diagnosed with a tendon injury in his right pinkie finger, though he has avoided fractures. The 25-year-old guard will be re-evaluated in three weeks.

Maxey is Philadelphia’s leading scorer and best player, and has taken a leadership role on the team with Joel Embiid and Paul George sidelined. Embiid has only played in 33 games this season and is currently dealing with an oblique injury. George is currently serving a suspension for violating the terms of the NBA’s anti-drug program and has only played in 27 contests this season.

The Sixers enter Tuesday 34–30 and in possession of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. They are 11 1/2 games back of first place and 1 1/2 games behind the Magic for the sixth seed, where they could avoid the play-in tournament. They are also only 2 1/2 games ahead of the Hornets, who hold the 10th seed.

While Maxey, Embiid, and George are almost all surely out for the next few weeks, rookie VJ Edgecombe will be the team’s leading active scorer with his 15.3 points per game. Philadelphia will need huge performances out of him, and the supporting cast like Kelly Oubre Jr., Quentin Grimes and Dominick Barlow.

One saving grace for the 76ers is that their schedule is one of the easiest in the NBA for the rest of the season. The combined winning percentage of their remaining opponents is .489, which is tied for 21st. It may be tough for them to secure the sixth seed and avoid play-in games, but they should be able to hang on to a postseason spot.

Tyrese Maxey’s statistics during career year

Maxey is in the middle of the best season of his six-year NBA career. His career best 29.0 points per game ranks fourth in the league, while he is also averaging career highs in assists (6.7), rebounds (4.1), steals (2.0), blocks (0.8) and minutes (38.3) per game. He’s doing that while shooting 46.1% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc.

Those numbers earned Maxey his second All-Star nod this year.

When healthy, the inside-out combination of Maxey and Embiid can be one of the best in the Eastern Conference. Despite his struggles this season, Embiid is averaging 26.6 points per game when he’s actually on the floor. His rebounding numbers (7.5 per game) have taken a steady dive since he averaged 11.0 during the 2023–24 season, but he is still an effective player.

Maxey and the 20-year-old Edgecombe are looking like one of the best young backcourt combos in the league. The No. 3 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, Edgecombe’s transition to the league has surprised some people. While Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg remain favorites to win Rookie of the Year, Edgecombe is firmly in the mix for the award.

If Maxey, Embiid and George can get healthy and play with Edgecombe in the postseason, Philadelphia could be a dangerous team. Unfortunately, they have to get to the full playoff bracket to have a chance.

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