Tyrese Maxey Talks Embracing Leadership Role on Sixers

Maxey's Role As a Leader

One thing that can't be reflected in his stat lines is his leadership ability, something that he's brought upon himself over the years, with Maxey explaining that it came to be towards the end of his fourth year in the league, when the Sixers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, when Joel Embiid told him that his input was needed.

"I think, like the end of my fourth year, maybe I just remember Joel kind of pulling me to the side, just telling me, like, my voice is gonna be needed, you know, people just see how hard I work, how much I care about winning, how much I care about the franchise," Maxey explained. "You know, Joel is a more reserved guy, of course... but he was just telling me that's a way for me to step up and lead and be vocal."

The transition for the former All-Star didn't happen overnight, as he felt as if he didn't really find himself in that role until the midway point of the Sixers' campaign.

"Last year, I kind of tried to start it at the beginning, but I didn't really get going the way I needed to, probably towards the middle of the season," Maxey stated.

Since that point, the 24-year-old has found himself as one of the leaders in Philadelphia's locker room, which has expanded to him coordinating workouts with his teammates, most notably rookie Justin Edwards and upcoming rookie VJ Edgecombe, over the summer.

"It started with Justin [Edwards], just from the season. I told him, 'As soon as the season is over, as soon as my hand heals, and I start working out, come to Dallas for a week and just show you how I work.' Then, of course, we got VJ [Edgecombe], I talked to him, came up here, messing with him a little bit."

Maxey's offseason led workouts didn't stop in his hometown, but would also pop up in Los Angeles, which was also paired with activities best described as teammate bonding, such as a trip to an amusement park.

"LA was more of a thing, like, they always do, like the runs in LA, and I'm always on the internet, working out anyway, so, like, listen, hey, grab a lot of young guys, let's go do something fun, we are all working out, playing basketball," Maxey said. "I'll go workout with them, but also do something fun that, like, it just be cool. Like, see a lot of 6'7", 6'8" guys trying to ride roller coasters, most of them are scared anyway, so it's pretty fun."