Doc Rivers, Ben Simmons Impressed by Tyrese Maxey's Sixers Debut
Former Kentucky standout guard Tyrese Maxey debuted with the Wildcats just last season. After a successful run during his freshman year, Maxey decided to take a gamble and declared for the 2020 NBA Draft. Eventually, he became the No. 21 overall pick after getting selected by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Heading into Tuesday night, Maxey was ready to make another basketball debut, but this time in the NBA. He didn't know when his time was coming during the Sixers' Tuesday night matchup against the Boston Celtics, but whenever Sixers head coach Doc Rivers called his name, Maxey knew he'd be ready.
Three quarters of the game went by, and Maxey had yet to get his number called. Once the fourth quarter was ready to begin, his time had come. For the final 12 minutes of the matchup, Maxey appeared on the court against the Celtics. By the time the game wrapped up, the Sixers rookie had eight points off of six shots.
"He's good, and I've said that -- he's a good player," Rivers said after the matchup. "He's gonna push for minutes because he's a good basketball player; he knows how to play. You can't speed him up, he's got a plethora of shots."
Winning over the head coach will help earn Maxey some minutes when the regular season rolls around. And winning over one of the team's most prominent stars will go a long way when Maxey can finally share the court with Ben Simmons.
"He dominated once he got the jitters and excitement out of the way," Simmons said when talking about Maxey's night. "He slowed the game down and got to work. He's been working, and I've seen him at numerous hours doing that -- his floaters -- and working on his game. To me, it's not a surprise, but it's good to see all of that work pay off. He's gonna be great offensively and defensively once he learns the concepts and things like that -- but offensively, he's got it."
While Maxey still has a lot of work to do, the young guard feels good about passing his first NBA test with flying colors. He hasn't quite earned a spot in the regular-season rotation yet, but another strong showing in the second and final preseason game on Friday night could help him make a strong case to get on the floor in the future.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
