According to Basketball Reference, one of Tyrese Maxey's nicknames is "Prince of the City." I have personally never heard anyone call him that. But after yet another masterclass in Wednesday night's Play-In game to send the Sixers to the playoffs, which included 31 points and 6 assists (including a personal 7-0 run when the Magic were inching their way back in the second half), I think Prince of the City fits him pretty well.
King of the City may not be up for grabs right now — Jalen Hurts brought home a Lombardi, to be fair. But Maxey came to Philly as a wide-eyed rookie, and has (for basketball standards) quickly morphed into the team's pillar. He is the face of Philadelphia basketball and represents everything good about the city and the sport.
In his postgame interview, he shouted out pretty much all of his teammates, including Kyle Lowry, who is more of a coach than a player at this point. Team-first from Maxey, always. His humility is never forced and it makes him extremely easy to root for.
Being this good of a player doesn't hurt, either.
Tyrese Maxey confirms again that he is a No. 1 option
It hasn't been a linear path to being the Sixers franchise player for Maxey. There have been setbacks, both from him (Maxey's efficiency was down last year in his first season as the go-to guy), and from the circumstances surrounding the team. But at 25, there isn't a question anymore about whether Maxey runs the show, and a game like Wednesday night acts as another reminder — to the rest of the basketball world, that is. Philly has known it for a while.
This isn't a slight on Joel Embiid, to be clear. I want Embiid to find success as much as anyone else; he deserves it. And at this point, his best chance of finding that is if Maxey can be this guy, every night.
"We played hard as hell," Maxey said. "I don't care what it takes, we're going to the playoffs."
Yes they are. Boston looms — and looms large. But for now, the Sixers are celebrating because their franchise player is doing franchise player things.
Things happen to the Philadelphia 76ers that other franchises couldn't even fathom. But on the occassion that they are merely a good, likeable team with a joyful point guard speeding to the basket, we rejoice.
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