Heading into his fifth season in the NBA, Tyrese Maxey looks to build on a fantastic 2023-2024 season, which saw him earn his first All-Star appearance and receive the Most Improved Player award. His explosive playmaking, remarkably consistent shooting, and relentless hard work have put him in the upper echelon of NBA guards.
But like most top-tier guards, having a tough, defensive-minded wing with whom you can really connect well and communicate is essential to achieving your full potential. Someone who does the little things – fights for loose balls, sets screens, properly executes the short roll, and frees up their guard to focus on taking shots. For Tyrese Maxey, that person could be KJ Martin.
Addressing media members after practice last week, Maxey reflected on his friendship with Martin and their potential to function similarly to former Sixers James Harden and PJ Tucker:
“I mean, KJ is actually a good friend of mine, so I talked to him a lot, just because, you know, last year, and then we came out in the same class, worked out a lot of times together in LA in pre-draft. But I like KJ, man. I think he has the potential to be somebody’s person to be.”
“I was trying to tell him, James [Harden] and PJ [Tucker| had a really special connection as far as, just like those screens and that short roll. I feel like he could be, you know, we got that same type of thing. So we worked on a lot in practice and preseason, you kind of see in the games a little bit. And then I know about him shooting the ball, he has a nice jumpshot. If you open, shoot the ball, that’s gonna open up the roles a lot more.”
The comparison to Harden and Tucker is interesting, and not just because of their history with the team. PJ Tucker is your classic 3-and-D wing who plays hardball and fights for possession. KJ Martin, on the other hand, wins the ball with his length over his physical toughness and focuses more on lob passes, blocks, and easy layups. But despite their physical differences, the two duos might have more in common than meets the eye.
For starters, both Tucker and Martin excel at rebounding, despite the former being just 6’5”. Martin has consistently shown his willingness and ability to rebound on both ends of the court, which especially stood out in the preseason with both Joel Embiid and Paul George facing injuries.
Martin was also quietly a solid defender against tough post-up threats during Embiid’s extended absence last season, similar to the role that PJ has often played in his career. And while Martin may not always have had the physical strength of a stocky wing in past seasons, he was superb defensively (and not bad on offense!) in the Sixers’ preseason win over the Brooklyn Nets.
It’s easy to forget just how long Maxey and KJ have known each other, as they arrived in Philadelphia a few years apart. But if they can build their on-court relationship, they have the potential to be a really strong dual threat. That will be more important this season than ever, as the team expects to load manage Embiid heavily. The Sixers struggled mightily last year to define their identity without the monstrous Embiid at the center of it. A strong Martin-Maxey game could be one way they start to address that.
Just three games into the season, the Maxey-Martin pairing is already showing out. In 49 minutes together, Maxey and Martin have an offensive rating of 114.42 compared to 103.03 in 79 minutes with Maxey and without Martin.
It’s a small sample size, but an encouraging sign regardless.
