Getty Tyrese Maxey #3 formerly of the Kentucky Wildcats.
The Philadelphia 76ers landed a star in Tyrese Maxey back in 2020. He might have only played one season for John Calipari at Kentucky, but what he flashed was enough to catch the eye of Daryl Morey & Co. during the pre-draft process.
Maxey entered college with significant expectations. He was rated a top-10 prospect in the country by RSCI, another in Kentucky’s long line of greats that includes Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, and Process legend Nerlens Noel.
In his lone season with the Wildcats, Maxey tallied 14 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. But his 29.2% from three left quite a bit to be desired. Nonetheless, he was named to an All-SEC and All-SEC Freshman team during the 2019-20 season.
Two years later, Maxey has shed any concerns over his shooting from deep. He connected on nearly 43% of threes last year in Philadelphia, erupting for 17.5 points per game.
While his development and rise in Philadelphia are worthy of a mini-docuseries, his prowess on the court likely goes back to his pedigree, first as a top-10 recruit, then as a blue-chipper in Calipari’s system. But over the weekend, Maxey revealed that he has some pretty strong feelings for another SEC school.
On September 10, the University of Texas took on Alabama in a highly-anticipated college football game in Austin. And Maxey was loving the two schools battling it out on the gridiron.
“It just feels like Texas and Alabama are supposed to be playing each other every year!,” the former Wildcat tweeted.
It just feels like Texas and Alabama are supposed to be playing each other every year!
Maxey’s teammate Georges Niang chimed in, asking who the rising star was pulling for in the game. And Maxey’s answer might come as an unwelcome surprise to Big Blue Nation.
Maxey tweeted an elephant emoji, a reference to Alabama’s mascot the Crimson Tide, usually represented by an elephant. Kentucky and Alabama both play for the SEC, though. In fact, Maxey faced off against the Tide will in Lexington — so his fandom for the Tide comes as a bit of a surprise.
Was Maxey Rooting Against His Own Home State?
Maxey’s pride in the Crimson Tide comes as a surprise for another reason, though. The Sixers star was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, which is fewer than 200 miles away from Austin, where the Longhorns play.
It remains to be seen whether the Kentucky faithful will forgive Maxey for this cardinal offense. My guess, though, is that all will be forgiven as long as Maxey continues to ascend in Philadelphia enough to have his jersey retired in Lexington.
It’s not like Maxey can’t cheer for his Wildcat football team, either. Kentucky shot up the AP Rankings this week to No. 9 in the nation. Fortunately, there aren’t any scheduled matchups between the Crimson Tide and Wildcats. But if both teams continue to dominate, they very well could meet in the SEC title game, splitting Maxey’s loyalties and forcing him to choose a side.
Maxey Rated the Third-Best Sixer Heading into New Season
Maxey should continue to rise in his third year in the NBA. Heading into this season, Maxey landed third on the Sixers’ roster power rankings by Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report.
“Maxey catapulted forward as an NBA sophomore, and if he takes anywhere near the same level of leap this season, he could become an All-Star fixture for years to come. He’s a blur with the basketball and a fearless scorer, and the strides he’s made as a shooter (42.7 percent from range) and table-setter (4.3 assists against 1.2 turnovers) make him exponentially harder to handle,” Buckley wrote.
With that ranking, Maxey has somersaulted over Tobias Harris in Philadelphia’s pecking order. While overtaking James Harden (No. 2) or Joel Embiid (No. 3) is far less likely, Maxey showed he can hang with the roster’s top flight last season.
He should have no problems doing the same once again.