Tyrese Maxey's selfless act getting the kudos it deserves

A selfless act by Tyrese Maxey a year ago allowed the Sixers to form a superteam this offseason.

At the end of the 2022-2023 season, Maxey was already viewed as a rising superstar in the NBA after he averaged 20.3 points in his third season in Philadelphia. The guard's breakout season meant he was eligible for a rookie max contract extension worth $204 million. 

Most players would have wanted the Sixers to back up the Brink's truck. And justifiably so. However, Maxey decided to play out the 2023-2024 season under his $4.3 million fourth-year option, allowing the Sixers to preserve cap space for the 2024 offseason.

The result of his sacrifice? The Sixers were able to sign Paul George, Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson to put a strong supporting cast around him and Joel Embiid.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Sixers front-office head Daryl Morey thanked Maxey for his selfless act.

"Tyrese was really the key to this offseason," Morey said. "Without his patience, none of this would have been possible... He was very clearly on his way to being what he has become — an All-Star, a future star in this league. And by being patient, he allowed us to put this offseason together and put us in this position to be one of the few legitimate contenders in the league this year. So I want to make sure we thank Tyrese for that."

Maxey admitted that delaying his extension was "a very hard thing to do" and he sought counsel from confidants about how his sacrifice could help the team. 

When Maxey understood the dynamics of the 2024 offseason — and how the Sixers could open up $65 million in cap space — he was on board with the idea and even encouraged Morey and Co. to go forward with their plan.

"I had a lot of conversations with Joel (Embiid) about it [cap situation] last year," Maxey revealed. "I appreciate him for that too, because he was big in helping me with that. It was more calming the people [family members] down... that was the hardest thing to do, making them understand exactly what it meant, cap space and all the little things. But I'm just happy, that we were able to do what we did in the offseason."

For a 23-year-old, Maxey has shown to possess a good head on his shoulders. His demeanor could prove critical to the Sixers ending their 23-year Eastern Conference Finals drought shortly. 

The Sixers enter the 2024-2025 season with the fourth-shortest odds to win it all behind the Celtics, Nuggets and Knicks.