The Philadelphia 76ers have an MVP candidate in Joel Embiid, but there was a sense they could pick up even more trophies from the annual awards.
On April 17, TNT and the NBA revealed the finalists for the various awards around the league, and while Embiid finished as one for MVP, Tyrese Maxey was notably missing as a finalist for Most Improved Player.
It’s important to note that Maxey is just in his second year as an NBA player, and he’s also somebody who saw his minutes skyrocket in Ben Simmons’ absence. Players making leaps in their second year is something that happens a lot, but some Sixers fans would’ve liked to see him get rewarded for his big leap.
Maxey Not Named Finalist
The three finalists for the award are Darius Garland, Ja Morant and Dejounte Murray. All three of them were first-time All-Stars this year, and none of them are in their second year.
Morant made a leap into superstardom this season, Murray nearly led his team into the playoffs through the play-in tournament, and Garland helped the Cavaliers make it back to the postseason for the first time since LeBron James left again.
As for Maxey, he filled in as essentially the team’s second option for the whole year until James Harden came to Philadelphia. He did everything that was asked of him and saw his scoring skyrocket from 8.0 points per game all the way to 17.5 this season. He only started eight games in the regular season for the Sixers last year and that number jumped up to 74 this year.
1. Tyrese Maxey 2. Jordan Poole 3. Ja Morant
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor revealed how he voted for the award on April 11, and he had Maxey as his top option followed by Jordan Poole. Neither Poole or Maxey were named finalists, but it’s clear the young Sixers guard caught the eye of people outside of Philadelphia.
Sixers Fans React
But how is Tyrese Maxey not a finalist for most improved player 😳
When the finalists were announced, Sixers fans immediately voiced their displeasure on social media.
“But how is Tyrese Maxey not a finalist for most improved player,” asked NBC Sports Philly anchor John Clark.
There are some fans who believe the award shouldn’t be allow to go to high draft picks, which would disqualify Ja Morant as he was picked number two overall.
“Anyone else think it’s kinda ridiculous a 2nd overall pick can win MIP?” asked Twitter user shadysburner. “Or is it just me?”
For what it’s worth, his Sixers teammates have his back, and Joel Embiid put it rather bluntly.
“He’s the league’s most improved player,” Embiid said.
With the ship now setting sail on Maxey winning an award, the focus can shift to Embiid and the MVP trophy. He’s facing an uphill battle against Nikola Jokic, but the narrative has seemed to shift to be a race between the two dominant centers from their respective conferences.
Sixers fans would certainly want to see Embiid come home with the award, but things don’t seem to be trending in that direction at the moment. Obviously the biggest prize would be an NBA championship, and perhaps Embiid could hold a Finals MVP trophy instead.
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