Tyrese Maxey Offers Injury Update After 76ers’ Loss vs Clippers

Tyrese Maxey addressed how he's feeling after a 76ers loss against the Clippers.

Nov 24, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) passes the ball against Los Angeles Clippers guard Jordan Miller (11) in the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

At one point through the first 16 games of the Philadelphia 76ers’ season, each All-Star starter on the roster has missed time. For Tyrese Maxey, his string of absences started on November 8.

During a matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, Maxey checked out after appearing on the court for 31 minutes. Considering the Sixers were on the path to a double-digit loss, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse believed the medical staff was holding Maxey out to play it safe.

The one-time All-Star was experiencing hamstring soreness. The following day, Maxey received an MRI, which confirmed he was dealing with a strain. While it wasn’t viewed as a severe setback for the star guard, Maxey was expected to miss at least one week of action.

.@ShamsCharania has more on Tyrese Maxey's hamstring injury: pic.twitter.com/gtfw5Y8LVt

— First Take (@FirstTake) November 7, 2024

The absence ended up being six games. Maxey returned to the court last Wednesday to face the Memphis Grizzlies.

As expected, Nurse and the Sixers didn’t trot Maxey out on the court for his usual minutes. In the six games leading up to his injury, Maxey averaged 41 minutes of playing time. In Memphis, for his first game back, he played under 20 minutes.

Since he returned to the lineup, Maxey’s minutes have slowly gone up. Following the loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, the star guard addressed how he’s been feeling from a physical standpoint.

“I feel better,” Maxey said.

“I was supposed to come out at one point, I think in the second quarter, I was like, ‘No, I gotta stay,’ and I just gotta keep moving. I gotta keep going and pushing through it. I feel good. My wind feels good, hamstring feels great. I got a little nervous. I stepped on somebody's foot in the beginning of the third quarter. Thankfully, it was nothing.”

In the win over the Brooklyn Nets last Friday, Maxey produced 26 points on 65 percent shooting in 26 minutes of action. When he checked in for 29 minutes in Sunday’s loss, Maxey produced 17 points on 39 percent shooting from the field.

The Sixers dropped to 3-13 on the season, the 2nd worst record in the NBA.

Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George have played just 6 minutes together through 16 games. pic.twitter.com/P07VQNN20e

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 25, 2024

“The injury bug hit us early,” he finished. “I mean, it hit us early. Hopefully, we can hope and pray that we can dig ourselves out of this hole and then be healthy when it matters.”

With a loss on Sunday, the Sixers fell to 3-13 on the season. They’ve been without Paul George and Joel Embiid over the last two games. The Sixers will get a small break before getting back on the court to take on the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Maxey is expected to appear in his fourth-straight game on Wednesday, while Embiid and George’s statuses remain unclear.