Tyrese Maxey's Reaction to NBA Rising Stars Nod

The 2022 NBA All-Star festivities will be here soon. Typically, the Philadelphia 76ers have multiple members in the big game as Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid have

The 2022 NBA All-Star festivities will be here soon. Typically, the Philadelphia 76ers have multiple members in the big game as Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid have earned All-Star honors over the last few seasons.

As we know, Simmons has yet to show face this season. Therefore, he didn't get invited to the All-Star game for the first time in over three seasons. As for Embiid, he'll be back like he never left after getting voted in as a starter for the fourth time.

While Embiid won't have his Sixers co-star on the court with him this season, the Sixers will be represented at the NBA Rising Stars Challenge. Earlier this week, the NBA announced the Rookies and the Sophomores that will be entered into the tournament's player pool.

Philadelphia's second-year point guard Tyrese Maxey will be a participant.

Maxey's Reaction

"It's pretty cool," said Maxey on Wednesday night when asked how he feels about his nod. "All that means to me is that I'm out here doing my job and helping the team win. That's really all I care about is trying to rack up as much wins as possible, us trying to get better every day, and build towards the playoffs."

Last season, the NBA didn't have a Rising Stars game due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite canceling the event, the results of the voting were still revealed. The Sixers, who had several potential candidates to make it, such as Maxey and Matisse Thybulle, did not have any players chosen to represent the team.

This season, Maxey will become the first Sixers player to represent the team in the Rising Stars Challenge since Ben Simmons did it last in 2019. The second-year guard becomes the 18th player in the franchise's history to earn the nod. 

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