The Philadelphia 76ers have had an up-and-down start to the season with mixed results. A hot opening stretch showcased the team’s dynamic backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe delivering strong performances. Joel Embiid began the year on a minutes restriction before missing more games and eventually returning to the court.
Paul George has been active for a couple of weeks after an injury kept him out for an extended period. Maxey’s emergence as the team’s best all-around player this season has shifted the hierarchy of the organization’s top stars. Ramona Shelburne reported that a 76ers source confirmed the franchise now views Maxey as the No. 1 option over Embiid.
“I think the feeling is that this is Tyrese Maxey’s team, and over the summer it started to turn that page because people just frankly didn’t know when Paul George and Joel Embiid would be able to play, and so the Sixers had to pivot — and it turns out Tyrese Maxey is really good, and he is the franchise now.”
Why Is Tyrese Maxey So Important?
The 76ers have all but confirmed that Embiid and George will have some form of limitations for a large percentage of the season. Philadelphia is expected to either keep them out of the second half of back-to-back games or limit their minutes when they have to play more games in a short span. Neither player appears likely to return to the level they reached just two seasons ago.
Maxey has taken advantage of the increased need for production from the team’s other stars. The 25-year-old is averaging 32.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists with a dream start to the season. Any player averaging 30-plus points for more than a month is clearly doing something right as an elite offensive superstar.
Recent reports suggest Maxey is on the short list of locks to make the All-Star Game, despite it being too early for voting to begin. Maxey becoming more important than Embiid and significantly more important than George is not surprising. Philadelphia’s future now rests largely on Maxey’s ability to be a reliable and consistently great superstar.
Can Embiid & George Help Maxey?
The bigger point made by the anonymous source is made outside of Maxey’s role. Every franchise with a young player performing this well is smart enough to invest more in that talent. However, the more compelling element is that this marks the end of the road for Embiid and George as top franchise cornerstones.
George’s aging process makes his decline less surprising, but he is only in the second season of a massive contract. The 76ers paid George hoping he would be the missing piece to contend for an NBA championship, and it currently looks like one of the worst deals in the league.
Embiid won an MVP award just three seasons ago, showing how recently he was at the top of the basketball world. Injuries have derailed every season since then and continue to limit him today. Embiid still has a path to being almost as important as Maxey, but he must come to terms with the reality that he is no longer the top option.
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