The first couple weeks of the 2026-2027 NBA season featured an MVP-caliber run for the Philadelphia 76ers star, Tyrese Maxey.
The NBA rewarded Maxey with a Player of the Week nod after his first week of action. He nearly had another, getting mentioned as a nominee for the weekly award after the second week.
Since then, Maxey and the Sixers have slid down from their top spot a bit.
The MVP campaign is alive and well
On Friday, NBA.com released its weekly MVP ladder. When the first version came out, Maxey was sitting at No. 4. The Sixers grew used to watching Joel Embiid get that high, but now it's Maxey's time. However, the latest release of the list dropped Maxey down two spots. He is No. 6 after his recent run.
It started with the Cleveland Cavaliers game, which was sandwiched in a three-game road trip. Simply put, nobody played well. Maxey shot an uncharacteristic 33% from the field to score 17 points. The Sixers suffered a blowout loss.
Over the next four games, the 76ers watched Maxey normalize his play. A win against the Chicago Bulls featured a 27-point effort from Maxey. The veteran guard also dished out seven assists, while turning the ball over just once.
Then came another tough night for the Sixers. Nobody could go above and beyond and beat the Celtics. That includes Tyrese Maxey. The two-time All-Star shot 8-for-12 from the field, producing 24 points. He also had four assists while turning the ball over twice.
Maxey and the Sixers managed to bounce back on Thursday night against a shorthanded Toronto Raptors team. That was acknowledged as Maxey's strongest performance of the season, as the MVP candidates got laid out. From the field, Maxey hit an efficient 61.5% of his shots. He also got to the charity stripe for 12 shots. He made all but two of those attempts.
Along with his scoring, Maxey dished out eight assists, came up with two steals, and blocked one shot. He helped the Sixers bounce back after an ugly 122-101 loss against the Celtics.
Maxey's scoring is obviously key to keeping him in the conversation, but his playmaking and defense were mentioned as well. "Isn't prone to turnovers while keeping his defense at a high level," is a sentence that Maxey should feel proud about through these first few weeks.
Maxey has always been a willing defender, but his size has made it difficult for him to reach peak value in that department. As for his playmaking, that's been improving year after year, and has flown under the radar since he became the Sixers' starting point guard. While the assist numbers are down a point, mainly due to the stacked starting five, Maxey has maintained 5.5 assists per game, with only 2.0 turnovers per game.
Considering the makeup of the 76ers' roster, it was always going to be difficult for Maxey to earn enough attention at the MVP level, but it's still something to monitor early on.
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