76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid Contend for Weekly Honor

Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey battled it out for Player of the Week honors to open the season.
76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid Contend for Weekly Honor
76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid Contend for Weekly Honor /
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Tyrese Maxey has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ guard earns the acknowledgment for the first time in his career since getting drafted in the first round out of Kentucky in 2020.

So far, Maxey has started the season off with a bang. When the Sixers took the floor for their season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, the young guard looked sharp as ever as the team’s starting point guard in the absence of James Harden.

In 40 minutes of action, Maxey knocked down 46 percent of his shots from the field and averaged 38 percent from deep. He accounted for 31 points, eight assists, four rebounds, and two steals in the Sixers’ loss against the Bucks.

Two nights later, the Sixers returned to the floor to face the Toronto Raptors on the road. In an efficient shooting outing, Maxey averaged 60 percent from the field and knocked down nearly 80 percent of his nine three-point attempts. He upped the ante, scoring 34 points while collecting six rebounds, seven assists, and one block.

During the second night of a back-to-back, Maxey and the Sixers hosted the Portland Trail Blazers in South Philly for their home opener. In the near-30-point win, Maxey’s night wrapped up after 34 minutes, following back-to-back 40-minute shifts. He attempted just 14 shots from the field, still scoring 26 points. Maxey collected a double-double, grabbing ten rebounds, and also dished out four assists as well.

While three games is a small sample size, Maxey is off to a hot start. In three games, the young guard has averaged 30 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. From three, he’s averaging 56 percent on eight attempts per game. 

With Maxey picking up his first Player of the Week nod, he becomes the 15th Sixer to have the acknowledgment on his resume, joining the likings of his veteran teammate, Joel Embiid, who was also in contention for the nod.

According to NBA PR, Embiid was a nominee alongside Detroit’s Jalen Duren, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis, and Orlando’s Franz Wagner. 

Despite a rusty start for the MVP against Milwaukee, Embiid quickly bounced back and proved he could be right back in Most Valuable Player contention once again. Through three games, Embiid is averaging 31 points, ten rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and one block. 

Embiid and Maxey will get an opportunity to build on their strong starts when they take the floor on Thursday night to face the Toronto Raptors at home. They’ll look to improve their record to 3-1.


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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA