NBA Rookie Tyrese Maxey Credits Sixers' Village of Vets for Helping His Growth

NBA first-round pick Tyrese Maxey is appreciative of the veterans and staff around him as his first season on the Sixers begins to wind down.

When former Kentucky standout Tyrese Maxey came to the NBA, he entered the pros during a strange time. With the COVID-19 pandemic pushing the season's start back, the NBA didn't have time to allow rookies and young veterans to get their feet wet with a Summer League.

Therefore, Maxey went from getting drafted to immediately focusing on workouts and training camp with the Philadelphia 76ers before the season quickly approached. It definitely wasn't an ideal scenario for Maxey as he's robbed of precious time to develop, but the rookie isn't pouting about it.

Instead, Maxey is appreciative of the fact that he's got such a solid stable of veterans and coaches around him to teach him the game as his first season in the pros progresses and the postseason quickly approaches.

"The staff does a really good job of just helping the young guys," Maxey explained. "Then, of course, you have the -- I say the best vets in the league. You have a great variety of superstars like Ben (Simmons) and Joel (Embiid), and even Tobias (Harris), in my opinion. Tobias, early in his career, didn't play much, and now he is where he is.

"Danny Green has the same kind of story and also has three rings," Maxey continued. "Dwight (Howard), who's been a superstar, now is a roleplayer on a good team and won a championship. Just player development guys like Tyler, Spencer, Coach Hughes, everybody. It's like, you know, they say it takes a village to raise a child, I think that's a little motto we could go with [in this case]."

In past seasons, the Sixers were always viewed as a younger squad with hardly any seasoned veterans around to help guide the younger players. With the growth of Simmons, Embiid, and Harris, along with the additions of Green, Howard, Seth Curry, and now George Hill, Tyrese Maxey, and other young Sixers have plenty of valuable resources around to help them stay ready on a team that's competing for a championship right now. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.