For the second time already this season, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the New York Knicks.
This time, however, it came in their NBA Cup opener on Friday night, when they edged out a hard-fought 98-93 win behind veteran LeBron James and star guard Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey led the 76ers offensively, recording 27 points, four rebounds and four assists, while James tallied 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Philadelphia also got a major spark off the bench from Anfernee Simons, who put up 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field and 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.
James Drops Strong Quote on Maxey
After the win, James was asked about playing with Maxey and got honest about his new teammate. He said Maxey is a player who doesn’t just want to be great, but wants to be legendary.
“It’s been great. Obviously ultra energy, ultra respect. He gets the respect from his peers, respect from his teammates, and for me as the elder statesmen, I just try to give him all the gem and the knowledge to continue to improve his game each and every day,” James said postgame. “I mean he’s already damn good, but I think he wants to be legendary so hopefully I can pass something down to him.”
“I think he wants to be legendary so hopefully I can pass some down to him”
LeBron James on Tyrese Maxey following his 27 point night against the Knicks https://t.co/DMNQUTDccI
— Drew Peltzman (@dapeltz13) October 31, 2026
James Reveals His First Impressions of Maxey’s Greatness
In the locker room, James went into more detail about what he saw in Maxey that made him believe his young teammate had what it takes to be great.
“I can talk about how good he is and how great he will be on the simple fact that he’s never been late for a workout,” James said. “We worked out for six straight summers and he’s never been late. And he actually tried to beat me to a couple of workouts in which he was successful… and then I started showing up a lot earlier and he said you got it from there… but that’s when I knew he was going to be successful.”
LeBron James Drops Strong Quote on Tyrese Maxey After 76ers’ Win Over Knicks