Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey credits LeBron James: ‘He has made everybody willing passers’

The Sixers were supposed to need some time to figure out who gets the ball. Tyrese Maxey says LeBron James helped settle that issue almost immediately.

At 9-2 entering Tuesday’s matchup with the Celtics, Philadelphia has given the questions about overlapping stars and competing egos considerably less oxygen.

“We’re competitive as hell,” Maxey said, via Tony Jones of The Athletic. “We’ve been playing hard defensively and playing together. This is who we are. That’s not fluff.”

Maxey traced that approach back to training camp.

“On Day 1 of camp, we were moving the ball, and I looked at Joel and I said, ‘All the ego stuff and the one-ball stuff that we hear, it’s going to be OK, because LeBron’s here and he has made everybody willing passers.’ And if LeBron can be a willing passer, the rest of us can be too.”

James has leaned into creating opportunities for others, with Maxey and Jaylen Brown carrying much of the scoring responsibility. That’s a reasonable use of this roster’s talent. Getting everyone to embrace it was the bigger question.

Coach Nick Nurse credited James and Joel Embiid for helping establish that willingness.

“I think Joel and LeBron have had a willingness to pass the ball often, and I think that has set a tone and been kind of infectious to the other guys,” Nurse said.

The Sixers still have work to do. Jones pointed to rebounding concerns, limited bench scoring beyond Anfernee Simons and questions at backup center. Brown also cautioned against letting the record hide problems.

“We’ve been winning games, but some of that stuff will catch up to you,” Brown said. “So, you know, we have to nip it in the bud.”

That’s the useful part of this start. The Sixers are winning while sorting things out, and their biggest names appear willing to make the adjustments. With this much talent, that gives them a pretty good place to begin.

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