Training camp is still weeks away, but the Philadelphia 76ers already sound like a team that has done its homework.
That is the challenge Philadelphia signed up for this summer. And Tyrese Maxey, the one player who has been through every version of this roster’s ups and downs, just laid out exactly how he wants to handle it.
Maxey sat down with HoopsHype’s Sam Yip this week for a wide-ranging chat about the Sixers’ new-look roster. The topic that stood out most was simple: with Joel Embiid, LeBron James, and Jaylen Brown all sharing the floor now, who takes the last shot when it matters.
His answer said less about basketball and more about buy-in.
Maxey Sets The Tone For Loaded Roster
Tyrese Maxey Warns Sixers Stars Ahead of Highly Anticipated Season
“I think it depends on what the situation is, you know what I’m saying? I think we have confidence in a lot of different guys,” Maxey said via HoopsHype. “I think people want to say VJ is our fifth option, but last year he took a lot of shots in the clutch. He made a lot of shots in the clutch. There was a couple times, where I got doubled and Joel got doubled and we had to kick it out to VJ and he had to make a shot. It’s going to be different people. We’re going to see how it goes and see how it flows.”
Maxey did not stop there. He went further, addressing the bigger question hanging over this roster since the day it came together.
“I think it depends on what the situation is… I think the biggest thing is we can’t have anybody, nobody on this team can have an ego. We have two guys that have won regular-season MVPs, two guys that have won Finals MVPs, multiple gold medal winners on this team, multiple 25-plus points per game, All-Stars, All-NBA. We’re all pretty accomplished. So the ego has to drop and you have to do it collectively.”
That last line is the whole season in one sentence.
Why This Matters For Philly Fans
GettyTyrese Maxey Sets the Tone for Sixers’ New-Look Superteam
Sixers fans have watched star-studded rosters fall apart before, and the fear is real. Embiid, Brown, Maxey, and James were all top scorers on their previous teams. Four ball-dominant players sharing one offense is not a small puzzle for Nick Nurse to solve.
But Maxey framing it around trust instead of hierarchy is a good early sign. He is not trying to protect his own shot count. He is naming the strength of this roster and pointing out that the fix has to come from everyone, together.
James, at 41, already played a reduced role behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves last season with the Lakers, so sharing the ball is not new territory for him. Brown arrives motivated after Boston moved on from him. Embiid, when healthy, remains one of the most dominant scorers in the league.
The season opener against the Knicks on October 20 will be the first real test. Until then, workouts like the one Maxey, James, and Brown just wrapped up are the only glimpse fans get into how this group actually talks to each other.
What Maxey said this week was not a big declaration. It was a quiet reminder that talent alone will not be enough. The Sixers now know what they are building toward, and Maxey just told everyone how he thinks they get there.
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