Sixers NBA 2K23 ratings: Tyrese Maxey
- Actual Rating: 84
- Our Rating: 84
Tyrese Maxey could outshine his second-year leap with another big jump forward in year three. His work ethic and sky-tilted arc of improvement have been remarkable to behold since his humble beginnings as the 21st overall pick two years ago. Maxey is one of the fastest players in the NBA, getting to the rim at will and proving quite adept at finishing with finesse in traffic. To make matters worse for the opposing defense, he emerged as a flat-out elite 3-point shooter last season. He can beat you with deep pull-ups, or drive by you and collapse the defense.
The next step for Maxey is becoming a more advanced passer. Harden carries the majority of the point guard burden, but Maxey’s game is still mostly limited to attacking off the catch and making simple, straight-forward reads. That’s fine, but if he can become better at manipulating the defense and leveraging his stop-start ability, he will quickly make the leap from borderline All-Star to perennial All-Star.
Sixers NBA 2K23 ratings: James Harden
- Actual Rating: 92
- Our Rating: 89
Let’s be frank — the James Harden who won MVP in Houston is not the James Harden who donned Sixers blue last season. He was still excellent. Very few players process the game like Harden. He’s probably the best pick-and-roll playmaker on the planet, consistently pulling off passes that only a handful of players would even dare to think of trying. Combine that with regular trips to the free throw line and his trademark pull-up 3s, and it’s hard to complain — even if he was a regular All-Star instead of the best point guard in the game.
Can Harden, coming off his first healthy summer in two years, regain some of the explosiveness that once made him the league’s most exciting offensive engine? We’re in wait-and-see mode. He could return to superstar form and earn that 92 rating, or even blow past it. But the Harden we saw last was not a low-90s player.