Latest scoring outburst has Tyrese Maxey close to joining pair of Sixers legends

In comparison, Barkley had eight 40-point games at the same juncture and Iverson had 16 such outings before his 25th birthday. Maxey, who won't turn 25 until November 2025, has a good chance to eclipse Barkley and make a run at Iverson's longstanding record.

Maxey, the reigning Most Improved Player, has been a rare bright spot in the 76ers' injury-marred season thus far. While Joel Embiid has missed 18 of 24 games, Paul George has appeared in only 14 games in his first season in Philadelphia. Maxey, too, missed six games with a hamstring strain in the early part of the season but is starting to hit his stride of late.

In the month of December, the Sixers are 4-2 courtesy of Maxey (23.2 PPG) and George (22.0 PPG) clicking as a 1-2 punch, with useful contributions from Kelly Oubre Jr. (14.2 PPG) and KJ Martin (12.8 PPG). Jared McCain was continuing to make his case for Rookie of the Year before suffering a torn meniscus.

Yet, the Sixers (8-16) are just 1.5 games behind the 10th-seeded Pistons (11-16) for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. If Maxey can stay healthy the rest of the way, it's a safe bet that Philadelphia will sneak into the playoffs. The guard is also a shoo-in to make his second All-Star team and potentially his first All-NBA selection. +

The Sixers will next host the Hornets in a rematch of Monday's game before traveling to Cleveland for a marquee clash on Saturday night.