The NBA All-Star reserves were announced on Thursday, Jan. 30. Among those in the Eastern Conference who heard their names called were Jaylen Brown, Pascal Siakam, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham, Damian Lillard, and Tyler Herro. Noticeably absent was Sixers star guard Tyrese Maxey.
For the first time since 2017, the Philadelphia 76ers will not have a representative in the NBA All-Star game.
Why Tyrese Maxey wasn’t an All-Star
Breaking it down to its simplest, Tyrese Maxey was not named an All-Star because he did not play with enough offensive efficiency, and his performance has not resulted in enough success for the Sixers.
This season has been truly unique for Maxey. Not only has he often found himself the offensive focal point for the Sixers, but Philadelphia’s roster has seen inconsistency in its makeup from last season into this. The team’s constant rash of injuries has also hampered any hope of creating chemistry.
Maxey has been forced to figure out the team’s offense through grinding trial and error. This season, Tyrese Maxey has only shared over 1,000 minutes with one teammate, Kelly Oubre. Among Maxey’s returning teammates, the player who has spent the next highest amount of minutes alongside Maxey has been Ricky Council, who has played just 327 minutes with the Sixers’ guard.
Without a baseline level of chemistry between some of the team’s key players, like Guerschon Yabusele, Paul George, and Caleb Martin, the early season saw constant frustration for both Maxey and the Sixers. Opposing teams continued to blitz Maxey, and without chemistry, his accuracy suffered significantly.
Maxey has shot 43.8% from the field, 33.7% from three, and 87.1% from the free throw line this season, and the Sixers have limped to a record of 19-27.
Why he should have been an All-Star
The reasons Maxey was overlooked are evident. Now for why he deserved to be named an All-Star. Once again, Tyrese Maxey has elevated his game. Many this offseason wondered if this was even possible after his performance last season, but Maxey made yet another leap, mostly as a defender; an area that was once his greatest weakness is now a legitimate strength.
Largely due to the strength he added this offseason and under the continued guidance of Sixers head coach Nick Nurse, Maxey’s defensive improvement has been consistent but taken to new heights this season.
While Philadelphia’s insistence on helping—and thus overhelping—is frustrating at times, it has enabled the Sixers to become a top-five team in terms of steals per game, largely due to the effort of Maxey, who is third in the NBA in steals, averaging 1.9 per game.
Offensively, while Maxey has taken a step back in terms of efficiency, his volume has continued to be dominant, with his 27.1 points per game ranking sixth in the NBA. There were 24 players selected for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game. Tyrese Maxey averages more points than 20 of those players, but that just goes to show the value of winning in the eyes of the ASG reserve voters.
The timing of the news is particularly disappointing, considering Maxey’s recent stretch of play. Maxey has scored 28+ points in his last 12 games. Over his last 25 games, Maxey has averaged 28.4 points, 6.6 assists, and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 45.5% from the field and 35.4% from three. Over this past four-game winning streak, Maxey has averaged 33.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 52.7% from the field and 36.9% from three. Unfortunately for Maxey, voting was completed earlier this week, and the damage caused by the rest of the season was already done.
