Tyrese Maxey Shows Positive Progress Before Sixers vs. OKC Thunder

Tyrese Maxey worked out before the Sixers-Thunder clash.
Feb 24, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) controls the ball during the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Feb 24, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) controls the ball during the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

At this stage in the season, the Philadelphia 76ers plan to roll without two of their All-Star players for the rest of the way. While Tyrese Maxey is currently the third All-Star-caliber player dealing with an injury on the team, the Sixers seem to be hopeful he’ll get back on the floor at some point.

Ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Maxey reportedly participated in a workout. While that doesn’t offer a target date for his return, it’s a sign he could be on pace to get back out on the floor soon as he remains with the team on the current road trip.

The Sixers haven’t had Maxey on the court since their March 3 matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers. During that matchup, the Sixers rolled out Maxey for 23 minutes. The young guard produced five points on 2-13 shooting while dealing with a finger injury.

Although the finger injury bothered Maxey for a while, the back injury he suffered in the third quarter against the Blazers is what pushed the Sixers to sideline him for a while. Maxey missed the rest of the March 3 loss and went on to miss the next nine games, including Wednesday’s loss in OKC.

Tyrese Maxe
Feb 26, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) reacts after making a three point shot against the New York Knicks during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Last Friday, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse suggested that the team would leave the door open for a potential Maxey return after the Sunday afternoon game on the road against the Dallas Mavericks. So far, the Sixers haven’t released a detailed recovery plan for Maxey.

The loss in OKC on Wednesday pushed the Sixers back down to 13th place in the Eastern Conference with a 23-46 record. With the Play-In Tournament getting out of reach, it’s becoming more of a risk than a reward to play Maxey, especially if he isn’t one hundred percent healed up soon.

On Friday, the Sixers will continue their road trip by facing the San Antonio Spurs. They’ll close out the week with a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks. Maxey’s status for those matchups remains unclear.

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Published
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