After what many considered to be one of the best first-round matchups in some time, the Philadelphia 76ers saw their season come to an end Thursday night. Game 6 went down to the wire, with the New York Knicks escaping with a three-point victory to advance to round two.
Joel Embiid faced an array of questions during his postgame media availability, but took the time to shine a light on one of his teammates. He had nothing but praise for Tyrese Maxey following what was a breakout season for the young guard. Embiid called him the face of the franchise and feels Maxey has the chance to be a special player in the league.
“You’ve got a young superstar coming in. Face of the franchise for his whole career really in Philly,” Embiid said in reference to Maxey. “He has a chance to do something special next year again. I hope he becomes All-NBA this year. I think he can be in stuff like MVP conversations. I think he can take that next step.”
The James Harden trade opened the door for Maxey to have a much larger role within the Sixers this season. He took full advantage of this opportunity, averaging 25.9 PPG and 6.2 APG in the regular season. This increase in production led to Maxey landing an All-Star nomination and winning the Most Improved Player award.
In this series with the Knicks, Maxey proved that he is capable of being Embiid’s running mate moving forward. He had multiple impressive outings, including his heroic efforts at the end of Game 5.
Landing All-NBA is going to be tough for Maxey, but Embiid is right to be high on him. The two showed this year they can play like one of the top duos in the NBA. With their centerpieces intact, the Sixers’ mission now is to put a complementary supporting cast around them.
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