The 2025-26 Sixers will start the season surrounded by the same uncertainty that cast a dark shadow over them all last season. Paul George still cannot stay healthy, and no one honestly knows what is going on with Joel Embiid.
Then there is Tyrese Maxey, the man who best represents both the Sixers’ present and future. Whether the Sixers rise or fall next year, Maxey will need to improve in these three skills more than any other as he transitions to the star of the team.
Playmaking and spatial IQ
Tyrese Maxey profiles much more as an undersized shooting guard than a traditional point, but to his credit, he has averaged over six assists each of the last two seasons. With an increased on-ball role to take some burden off of Joel Embiid, that number has to rise yet again. The next obvious step for Maxey’s development as a playmaker is gaining a better understanding of half-court spacing.
Tyrese Maxey has one unabated speed. His speed is unquestioned. Once he gains an advantage over his defender, he is flying towards the basket as quickly as he can and looking to score at the rim. He needs to learn how to slow down his pace and operate in different gears. It would benefit both him and the team in spades.
It is not like Maxey has not been able to learn from a more deliberate facilitator, either. One of the main reasons James Harden has been as effective as he has for so long is because of his understanding of spatial manipulation. The man who started his ascension very similar to Maxey, bombing threes and driving to the rim, eventually learned that he needed to keep defenses honest in other ways, and that has led him to become one of the best playmakers of this generation.
Maxey needs to grind the Harden film to see how he effectively picks and chooses his spots from all areas of the floor.
Mid-range jump shooting
Since entering the league, Maxey has worked feverishly to become one of the NBA’s best young shooters. While Maxey also has a very underrated layup package for getting around the big guys in the paint, there is one more level of scoring he does not tap into nearly enough that would open up a world of opportunities for the Sixers’ team offense: the midrange.
Last season, Maxey attempted only 1.8 midrange shots per game. If he can tick that number up closer to three midrange shots per game with similar consistency, it will transform how opponents guard him and the Sixers as a unit.
Maxey was too passive last year in trying to integrate Paul George into the team, and the year before that, the entire offensive system was set up around Embiid’s playmaking from the nail. Taking some of that responsibility back, allowing George to operate off-ball from the perimeter, and giving Joel Embiid the option of rolling or popping to unclog the key will add extra layers to the Sixers’ offense that they have not had in years past.
Consistent defensive intensity
Tyrese Maxey is never going to be thought of as a great defensive player. He lacks the strength to contain the point-of-attack and also lacks the size to recover when his assignment beats him. Luckily, Maxey will never have to be an elite defender in order to have a solid impact on that side of the ball.
The Sixers, when healthy, have the defensive infrastructure behind Maxey to thwart oncoming dribble penetration. Kelly Oubre, Paul George, and rookie VJ Edgecombe have the length to swallow up guards as they make their way to the rim.
If Joel Embiid is on the court, that leaves a brick wall in front of the cup as well. As long as Maxey puts in the requisite effort to stay in front of his assignment, it will allow the entire team defense to load up for when the eventual crack in the armor is found.
