Dec 20, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) dribbles the ball against the Dallas Mavericks during the fourth quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, who is averaging career-highs in points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks, has been named an All-Star starter in a voting process which included fans, current NBA players and a media panel.
It will be the second All-Star appearance for Maxey, who is the third-leading scorer in the NBA with a 30.3 points per game average. He is joined on the Eastern Conference starting team by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown of Boston, Jalen Brunson of New York and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham.
“Look at his stats. He’s been doing it the whole season, from Game 1 to Game 41,” said teammate Quentin Grimes. “He’s probably a top three player in the league right now.”
With Sixers center Joel Embiid still a bit hindered by a knee injury, Maxey has taken a bigger role as team leader as evidenced not only by his scoring, but highs in assists (6.7), rebounds (4.4), steals (1.9) and blocks (1.0). He is one of only three players in the league — and the only one in the Eastern Conference — to average at least 30 points and six assists. He is the only player in the league with at least 1,000 points, 250 assists and 70 steals.
“I’m very thankful for it, blessed,” said Maxey. “I appreciate everybody who voted for me, the people that believed in me. And for my teammates and the organization to allow me to kind of lead them and try to be a better version of the franchise.”
When the announcement was made by the NBA on Monday afternoon, Maxey was so excited to learn the news that he was in the middle of his game-day nap when word got out.
“2 p.m. is the time that I sleep,” Maxey said. “So I was asleep. VJ (Edgecombe) called me multiple times so I could hear my ringer going off. So I answered and he’s screaming and showing me the TV. Then my mom called me and I said ‘I’m going back to sleep. I have work tonight.’”
Maxey’s other All-Star appearance was in the 2023-24 season. This year’s game will be played on Sunday, Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
“I think it’s awesome,” said coach Nick Nurse. “I don’t know if anybody would have projected that before the season started, so I always think that’s a nice surprise. It’s a hell of an honor. Top five guys in the conference is a big honor. It’s a historic thing. Happy for him. He’s been great, had a great off-season and has worked and he’s played great. I think it’s amazing and great to be a part of it.
“A lot of it is just opportunity, a lot of it is aggressiveness, a lot of it is confidence, a lot of it is the work that he’s put in. All those kind of rolled into one. He’s maturing, getting older at playing. We’re trying to give him every opportunity to be aggressive and go do his thing. He is very talented but I keep saying that there is a lot of room for growth, which I think is exciting.”
That's quite a statement considering where Maxey already is in the league, but something the coach truly believes. And so does Maxey.
“My main goal is for us to win,” Maxey said. “I feel like if I’m healthy and we win games and stay afloat and try to get into a playoff spot and do something special there, then all the rest of the accolades will appear. I think I’m nowhere close to where I could be as far as basketball-wise. I feel like I can keep getting better. My thing is I want to be better, for my teammates for his organization, for my family. I know have a coach, and organization and teammates who believe in me. When you have that it even kind of pushes you to be better than what you are.”
After a one-game stint with the Delaware Blue Coats, guard Jared McCain was back in uniform for the Sixers Monday as they played the Indiana Pacers. McCain, who has struggled all season after coming back from knee and thumb injuries, played 30 minutes and contributed 15 points in the Blue Coats loss. He did not play Friday when the Sixers lost to the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
With games Monday (Indiana) and Tuesday (Phoenix), the choice to bring McCain back to the big club was a no-brainer.
“We’ve got a doubleheader here, so we have to make sure we’ve got our guys here available in case we need them,” said Nurse. “We’ll reconsider what we’re going to do with him Wednesday or Thursday. We’re just trying to get him some extended run and get him out there again. I don’t think he’s had much of a runway to play consistently and we’re just trying to make sure he gets out there and gets minutes.”
Paul George sat out Monday’s game, which wasn’t surprising being as the Sixers play again Tuesday. Asked if it’s on the table yet that Joel Embiid may be able to play back-to-backs at some point, Nurse said it may be a possibility in the future but that it is not on the table right now. With his availability Monday, Embiid most likely will be out Tuesday against the Suns.
During Friday’s loss to Cleveland, VJ Edgecombe and Maxey could be seen on the sideline having a very strong debate, with Maxey dominating the conversation.
“I did see them conversing,” said Nurse. “Listen, I know who both of those guys are and their character and all that kind of stuff. They were doing it in a competitive, let’s get it right thing for sure. From my standpoint I almost like it. Certainly not a big deal. I almost like it that there was that much emotion going on. It was [Donovan] Mitchell’s first points of the game and, obviously, in that game we’re trying to make his life really, really difficult and that was the first time we let him get away. Those two guys are good.”
