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Is Joel Embiid Holding Tyrese Maxey Back, and if so, Who is to Blame?
By Sean Barnard
Published:
Joel Embiid has been the face of the Sixers for more than a decade. He is “The Process” personified, a two-time scoring champion, a seven-time All-Star, a three-time All-Defensive team member, a five-time All-NBA team member, and the 2022-23 MVP. He is also a guy who played just 19 games last year, 39 the year prior, and has suited up for 13 of a possible 30 games so far this season.
Since he has arrived in the NBA, just about every decision made by the Sixers organization has been based around him. Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons being out of the league before age 30 made the decision rather easy, but the reality is Embiid is the caliber of talent that the ideology of The Process was built upon acquiring. Embiid has outlived five general managers, two coaches, and 150+ teammates across his 12 years in Philadelphia. He was held out of his first two seasons completely due to foot issues. Every roster decision has been primarily motivated by the fit next to Embiid, and he has strangely been a point of stability in a sport where stars leave more frequently than ever before.
Tyrese Maxey has had a much different outlook. He was overlooked in his own draft class, falling to the 21st selection. He then played just 15.3 minutes per game as a rookie, with this blame falling on Doc Rivers for his lack of trust in young players. The Kentucky product even was forced (and was willing!) to delay his contract extension in order to allow the Sixers to sign Paul George. Maxey was crowned the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award in the 2023-24 season and earned his first All-Star appearance the same season. Now at age 25, Maxey has played his way into the conversation for one of the ten best players in basketball. He is a surefire All-Star and will make an All-NBA team without a slippage in production in the second half of the season.
Across his first 27 games this year, Maxey is leading the NBA at 39.8 minutes per. He is producing 30.8 points, 7.0 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game, while shooting 39.4% from beyond the three-point arc. The Texas native stepped to the podium at Sixers’ media day and talked about his desire to set the standard on a nightly basis. He has walked the walk in this endeavor and been the stability the franchise was in need of.
But what has been more difficult to figure out is that this same level of dominance has not translated when Maxey has shared the floor with Embiid and George. Looking at the Sixers results, the team is 0-4 when all three of the max contract players are on the floor this year. They are 6-2 in games that Maxey and George have played while Embiid sits. Philadelphia has gone 5-2 in games that Embiid and Maxey play together without George. The Sixers have gone 1-1 in the two games that Maxey has missed but George and Embiid played, and are 5-4 in games that Maxey has played when the two veterans were not unavailable.
The context of these matchups certainly matters, and the sample size of each is too small to pay too much attention to. But there are some noteworthy statistical themes when looking at Maxey’s output with and without Embiid.
In games without Embiid, Maxey is averaging 39.2 points per 100 possessions on 57.9% true shooting percentage and a 30.8% usage rate. He is posting a .371 three-point frequency, a .293 rim frequency, getting to the free throw line 9.2 times per 100 possessions, and turning the ball over 2.7 times per 100 possessions.
Across the 266 minutes he has played alongside Embiid this year, Maxey is averaging 32.4 points per 100 possessions on 62.3% true shooting percentage and a 26.4% usage rate. He is recording a .558 three-point frequency, a .217 rim frequency, getting to the free throw line 5.5 times per 100 possessions, and 4.5 turnovers per 100 possessions.
To some extent, this is splitting hairs, as both versions of Tyrese Maxey are players that any NBA team would be thrilled to have on their team. But the margins are small in the NBA, and finding a way to maximize both star players is essential for this team to hit its peak and make any sort of postseason noise. What is most notable in these stats is that Maxey clearly plays a more perimeter-oriented game when next to Joel Embiid. He scores less but is more efficient, and also turns the ball over at a higher rate.
The conversations over which “style” of basketball should be played feels like people sometimes forget that basketball teams must have five players. There is a fair point about figuring out how to maximize the two together, but there have been extended flashes of a really impressive two-man game with Embiid and Maxey on the floor together. Even at this stage of his career, Embiid commands a respect from opposing defenses that prevents them from blitzing and doubling Maxey. The two also have had some consistent flashes with their dribble handoffs and both guys playmaking for each other:
But it’s fair to assess, that at their core, the style of play from each is not exactly aligned. Maxey has a case for the fastest player in the entire NBA and can absolutely have his way with opposing defenses when he is attacking in space and getting out in transition. This, paired with the threat of him as a high-level shooter, is what makes him so special. Especially at this stage of his career, Embiid is much more content playing in a half-court style. His level of defensive impact may not be what it once was, but he will remain in the conversation for best mid-range shooter for as long as he remains in the league, and the list of players who can hang with him in the post is still slim. However, his dependency on operating in the lane also takes away the opportunity for Maxey to drive at the rate he desires.
Too often, when these criticisms arise, it feels that they are exclusively thrown at Embiid and Nick Nurse for the design of the offense. Neither are blameless, but now about one-third of the way through the year, it feels evident that this is less of an X’s and O’s adjustment and more of a call for Maxey to look himself in the mirror. The star guard tied his season-low with 14 shot attempts in Tuesday’s matchup with the lowly Nets, finishing with just 13 points. Embiid cruised to 27 points and also saw his knee issues flare up in the third quarter, which is a related part of this conversation. For what it’s worth, Embiid returned to this game and suited up against the Bulls on Friday before missing Sunday’s game.
But the reality of the “why” for Maxey’s struggles has a lot more to do with what is going on between the star guard’s ears than anything. It is not an easy tightrope to walk with your role changing on a near-daily basis based on what players are available around you. But the change that really needs to occur is for Maxey to embrace that this is his team to the fullest extent. He has evolved into the best Sixers player, and it is a detriment to the team’s outlook when Maxey willingly defers to his veteran counterparts at too regular a rate. It feels like Maxey has taken leaps in his progression at a rate where it has not fully set in internally.
Maxey and Embiid have had a clear big brother/little brother dynamic since he was drafted. But the dynamic has shifted, and Maxey needs to be willing to spearhead this. The standard he desires can only be set by a guy who is on the floor at the rate Maxey is, and Embiid must fit into this when he is available, not the other way around.
Maxey has continually added layers to his game throughout every season he has been in Philadelphia. But the next leap he must take is much different than improving as a shooter or adding a dribble move. Maxey must recognize the levels of NBA tiers that he has climbed and accept that he is “The Franchise” in the same way Embiid has coined him. This is Tyrese Maxey’s organization at this stage of the game, and the sooner he accepts this, the better for the Sixers moving forward.
Sean Barnard has covered the Philadelphia 76ers and general Philly Sports for over six years in a variety of roles and for multiple outlets. Currently works as a Content Writer for DraftKings Network, Sixers/NBA Insider for Philadelphia's Fox Sports the Gambler, and co-host of Sixers & Phillies Digest on Youtube. Forever Trusting the Process.