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Tyrese Maxey has had some incredible nights for the Philadelphia 76ers over the last few months. The second-year guard’s impressive scoring chops and all-around play have been imperative to keeping the shorthanded club competitive during the first half of the 2021-22 season.
Unfortunately — and for reasons having nothing to do with the holiday or his hardwood exploits — Christmas Eve may go down as his most unforgettable night of the year.
As reported by Action News in Philly, a Sixers team official confirmed that Maxey’s home in nearby Voorhees, New Jersey caught fire on Friday at around 7 p.m. ET. Officials said that firefighters were called to the residence for a multi-alarm fire. As of this writing, the cause of the fire is unknown.
Per the report, Maxey and his family were all reported safe and the Sixers are said to be working with the 21-year-old to make sure that they have everything they need.
Maxey Is in the Midst of a Career Year
After spending much of his rookie year riding the pine, Maxey has been right up there with the likes of LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Desmond Bane and Cole Anthony as one of the best second-year players in the Association. He currently leads all sophs in win shares (2.5) and is sixth in VORP (0.6).
Not only that — the season he is having has big-time historical significance as well.
Through 29 games played, Maxey is averaging 17.0 points, 4.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds per contest while posting an effective field-goal percentage of 52.2. Only four other players in league history have managed that line or better as second-year players — Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Anfernee Hardaway and Magic Johnson.
Maxey’s efforts have been a godsend this season as the team continues to contend with the absence of three-time All-Star Ben Simmons.
He has been so good, in fact, that some are calling for Sixers president Daryl Morey to consider his growth and long-term potential as he weighs whether to deal the former No. 1 overall pick and what he’s willing to take back in a deal.
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Rivers Explains Maxey’s off-the-Bench Appearance
After missing consecutive games with a left quad contusion, Maxey was back in the lineup for Philly on December 23 against the Atlanta Hawks. However, for the first time this season, he found himself coming off the bench in the game.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers made it clear, though, that the change was largely made because Maxey hadn’t been able to practice.
“Because he had just one day,” Rivers said, via Sixers Wire. “We couldn’t practice yesterday. [Furkan Korkmaz isn’t] gonna handle the ball a lot. I thought we had a rhythm, so we just went that way.”
For his part, Maxey took the change in stride.
“Same approach,” the guard said of the change. “Coach Sam [Cassell] and coach Doc told me this morning in shootaround… It doesn’t matter if I come off the bench. It doesn’t matter if I start. I just want to try to go out there and do my best and help my team win.”
In 33 minutes of play, Maxey scored 17 points and added three assists and three steals. Nevertheless, the Sixers lost the game 98-96.
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