Tyrese Maxey earns respect with gutsy performance for shorthanded Sixers

Tyrese Maxey is a rookie, but he played like anything but one when his team needed him this weekend.

The Philadelphia 76ers were severely shorthanded for their game against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. Seth Curry tested postive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. That led to Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, Shake Milton and Vincent Poirier being forced out as well due to health and safety protocols. Star players Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were also subsequently held out due to injury. They joined Furkan Korkmaz and Terrance Ferguson, both of whom already had existing injuries. Mike Scott was also injured but dressed so the Sixers could meet the eight-player minimum for the game to proceed.

Suddenly forced into heavy minutes along with the other healthy Sixers, Maxey, 20, responded with the performance of his life. He erupted for 39 points on 18-for-33 from the field. Maxey also chipped in with seven rebounds, six assists and two steals while logging a team-high 44 minutes.

While the Nuggets predictably won by a 115-103 final margin, the fact that was even that close was a testament to Maxey’s gutsy showing. That earned the ex-Kentucky star some major respect from the basketball community.