February 13, 2024
With the 21st pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Sixers sank a full-court shot when they selected Kentucky's Tyrese Maxey. After an inexplicable little amount of playing time as a rookie under Doc Rivers, Maxey has progressed each season, culminating in an All-Star campaign this year.
At 23, Maxey looks primed for a star-studded career with the Sixers at the tail end of Joel Embiid's prime and, perhaps, become their lead dog in a post-Embiid world in Philly.
Maxey is averaging 25.6 points and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 38.0 percent on 8.1 threes per night. His true shooting percentage is 57.4 percent. Sheesh.
Which All-Stars from NBA history compare most favorably to Maxey? What's his ceiling as a star in this league? With the obvious caveat that the Sixers just need him to be the best version of Maxey that he can be, it's a fun look at several All-Stars' age-23 seasons to put into context what Maxey is doing (stats via basketball-reference)...
| Player | Year | PPG | APG | TS% |
| Tyrese Maxey* | 2024 | 25.6 | 6.4 | 57.4 |
| Allen Iverson | 1999 | 26.8 | 4.6 | 50.8 |
| Steve Francis | 2001 | 21.6 | 6.4 | 56.3 |
| Dwyane Wade* | 2005 | 24.1 | 6.8 | 56.1 |
| Tony Parker* | 2006 | 18.9 | 5.8 | 58.4 |
| James Harden* | 2013 | 25.9 | 5.8 | 60.0 |
Hmm...
Going into the 2022-23 season, I had looked at Steve Francis and Tony Parker as potential comparisons for Maxey, guys who were lower-level All-Stars, but not true-blues stars. Their historical context was dependent on their team. Francis played in just one playoff series his whole career. Conversely, Parker was paired with a generational big man in Tim Duncan and won a handful of rings, including the 2007 NBA Finals MVP Award. Embiid isn't Duncan, but you could squint and see that possible future playing itself out.
Maxey's efficiency on three-point shots, however, has altered my perception of what his ceiling may actually be. Iverson is an obvious comp given where the two stars played. Iverson finished fourth in MVP voting in 1999 and would win the award two years later while leading the Sixers to the NBA Finals. Maxey is a much, much better shooter but the sheer scoring punch the two guards pack in South Philly is always going to link them.
If your glasses are a tad more rosy, the stats aren't too dissimilar from what Dwyane Wade and James Harden, two of the greatest guards of all time, put up in their age-23 seasons. Playoff success, certainly, alters their respective career outlook. Wade was a flat-out winner who captured the NBA Finals MVP Award just a year later. Harden, now on his fifth team, is still looking to shake off his reputation as a poor postseason player and likely never will.
The range of where Maxey lands isn't entirely dependent on him alone when looking back through the league's past. Bad management and lackluster teammates can doom a guard (Francis, Iverson). An unwelcoming demeanor can as well (Harden). Maxey has Embiid though. Maxey is a gamer. If the Sixers can successfully navigate this offseason and Embiid's career trajectory after his current injury, that will be the difference between Maxey being a player just old heads remember and a guy who's remembered as one of the best of his era.
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