In the absence of the Philadelphia 76ers' star player, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey has thrived as the lead offensive option for the franchise. Not only has the electric guard established himself as an inevitable scorer for the Sixers, but his playmaking has taken an outstanding leap. However, this rapid rise has not come without consequence for the player. Maxey’s expanded role under head coach Nick Nurse has come with a cost, as his efficiency begins to dip under the strain.
Joel Embiid has fallen victim to shin and knee soreness that has prevented him from featuring in Philadelphia's previous four fixtures -- the 76ers have lost all of these games. Throughout this difficult period, Maxey has been a mainstay of the roster and fronting up to the press despite the increasing scrutiny that the team is facing for their struggles without their star player.
The 25-year-old's professionalism may have continued at a superb level, but the same cannot be said about his efficiency. It would be easy to attribute this issue to a momentary dip in form; nevertheless, this would be too simple an analysis. A deeper dive into Maxey's season statistics shows that there is a more concerning factor at play here.
Nick Nurse must give Maxey a break
After a catastrophic 2024-25 campaign, Nick Nurse must lead Philadelphia to a postseason place. Anything less will be quantified as a failure. This can be felt throughout his rotational decisions. Even in games that the franchise has been comfortably winning, the head coach has continually maintained his view that Maxey must stay on the court, and now the negative results of his stubborn decision-making are proving to be counter-productive.
During the Sixers' most recent embarrassing 111-126 defeat at the hands of Western Conference strugglers, the New Orleans Pelicans, Maxey's levels of fatigue were evident for all to see. Despite chalking up 27 points and seven assists, the two-time All-Star struggled to make his shots fall. On the night, Maxey shot 9-23 (39.1%) from the floor, and 2-11 (18.2%) from deep.
This is far from an anomaly in Maxey's performances of late -- this is the fifth time in eight games that he has registered a field-goal percentage of less than 40%. Is this the statistics of a star desperately trying to play hero ball? No. These are the numbers of a player suffering at the unforgiving hands of fatigue.
Tyrese Maxey is currently leading the entire NBA in minutes per game (38.6). In comparison, other leading guards such as the Los Angeles Lakers' Luke Doncic and the Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards are averaging 36.5 and 35.5 minutes per game, respectively -- while also playing fewer games.
The Philadelphia 76ers already have one superstar in Joel Embiid, who is incredibly prone to injury. Can they really afford to allow another elite player suffer the same fate? At best, this exhausting barrage of minutes will fatigue Tyrese Maxey so severely that he will be ineffective come playoff time. Worst-case scenario: your secondary scorer crumples with a season-ending injury, and the Sixers’ postseason hopes collapse into ashes before they ever truly ignite.