NBA exec: Tyrese Maxey the Sixers star who is ‘making them go’

The Sixers assembled a roster full of stars, then handed their biggest possessions to Tyrese Maxey.

So much for spending the first month arguing over whose team it is.

That’s one of the more encouraging developments behind Philadelphia’s 8-1 start, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon. League scouts and executives see a team finding answers faster than expected, particularly when games get tight.

The Sixers visit the Cavs (4-4) on Friday night, marking yet another return for LeBron. (Full preview.)

“It’s Maxey,” an Eastern Conference executive told ESPN. “He’s making them go and you can see he already has all of their trust in fourth quarters. LeBron definitely trusts him and they’ve already really developed a nice two-man game that stresses defenses.”

The Sixers are 7-0 in games that have entered clutch time, defined as a margin of five points or fewer in the final five minutes. Maxey has scored 21 points in 19 clutch minutes, third-most in the league.

Having LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown around certainly helps. Getting those players comfortable with Maxey taking charge helps, too.

“In an incredibly humble way, he just seems like he knows he’s really good,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I don’t know if I’ve sensed that until this year.”

The Sixers still rank in the bottom 10 in offensive efficiency. Their top-three defense has given them room to work through that.

Depth has helped, with Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope earning praise from scouts. Backup center remains a concern following Ariel Hukporti’s season-ending Achilles injury.

Nobody wins anything significant in November. But the Sixers have already answered one important question about all that star power.

When a close game needs settling, they’re comfortable letting Maxey settle it.

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