Tyrese Maxey Names The Most Underrated Parts Of His Game
Fadeaway World · Gautam Varier · 2026-08-23T02:24:03+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey has firmly established himself as a star in the NBA by now, but he believes two parts of his game are not appreciated as they should be. Maxey recently sat down for an interview with HoopsHype, where he was asked to name the most underrated part of his game.
“Underrated part of my game is my shooting,” Maxey said. “My shooting, my catch-and-shoot, three-point shooting, that’s probably one of the most underrated parts of my game. Then my defense. Competitive at the other end. I get stops. I’m very good at getting steals and getting blocks and different things like that. So that’s probably another thing that I feel like is underrated.”
With the 76ers putting together a superteam, there has been a lot of talk about how there’s just one basketball. Also, for all the offensive talent, concerns have been raised about their defense.
Well, Maxey reckons he can help out on both fronts. The two-time All-Star won’t have the ball nearly as much as he has grown accustomed to with Joel Embiid, LeBron James, and Jaylen Brown all next to him, but believes he can still be productive with catch-and-shoot opportunities.
According to the NBA, Maxey shot 41.7% on catch-and-shoot threes on 3.4 attempts per game in 2025-26. That’s quite impressive, and those attempts will be going up.
While Maxey, the No. 21 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, is on point about this aspect of his game being underrated, you can’t really call him a good defender. That’s not down to a lack of effort, though. Maxey stands at 6’2″, and there’s only so much you can do at that size. The 25-year-old does get more steals and blocks than you might expect, however.
Maxey averaged 28.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game for the 76ers in 2025-26, and shot 46.2% from the field and 36.7% from beyond the arc. He was named an All-Star in 2026 and made the All-NBA Third Team.
It was an excellent campaign, but Maxey will now have to take a step back. That’s something Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal pointed to when this superteam was put together. O’Neal said Maxey is the player he feels sorry for after James and Brown’s arrival, but he shouldn’t be.
Tyrese Maxey Is Willing To Sacrifice To Win
While Maxey has dazzled on the court in recent years, the 76ers have won just one playoff series in the last three seasons. He wants to win and doesn’t mind sacrificing now that James and Brown have arrived.
“At the end of the day, I want to win, you know what I mean?” Maxey said. “And I have played with a lot of different people in a lot of different roles. So, at the end of the day, I am going to have to change some of the things, but because of the dynamic of our team- like, we don’t expect Process to play 70 games. But if he does, we’d be happy with that. So, that’s how you balance it out.
“You’re going to have games where I may have 20 or 18, and we win,” Maxey added. “I may have 35, and we win. There’s going to be games where Process doesn’t play, Bron doesn’t play, where I may have to go get 45 or JB may have to get 45, and we win. So, I’m not too messed up tripping on the PPG.”
That’s the mindset you need to have. Maxey has made it clear that everyone’s ego has to drop. They all want to win the championship and have to put the team’s interests before their own. The 76ers still might have a slow start to next season as the stars adjust to playing with each other, but expect them to start firing on all cylinders come the business end of the campaign.