Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers Photo)
Former Kentucky players Devin Booker and Karl Anthony-Towns have both been named to the NBA All-Star Game February 20 in Cleveland. However, another former UK standout, second-year Philadelphia guard Tyrese Maxey, has also been on quite a roll recently.
Maxey’s name had been mentioned by several NBA teams looking to make trades with the 76ers but UK coach John Calipari told Angelo Cataldi, Billy King, and the 94WIP Morning Show in Philadelphia that 76ers coach Doc Rivers told him a trade “will never happen.”
“I was worried to trade Ben (Simmons), they were going to have to move Tyrese. I said to Doc, please tell me that’s not happening. He said, ‘Never happen.’ He said, ‘Look at my eyes, that will never happen.’ So I probably shouldn’t say that publicly,” Calipari said on the show.
Maxey has become a fan favorite in Philadelphia after being the 21st pick in the 2020 draft after his freshman season at UK when he averaged 14 points per game. Maxey has increased his scoring from 8.0 points per game last year to 16.9 this season and his assists have gone from 2.0 to 4.8. His overall shooting percentage has also improved.
He was recently named to the Rising Stars game during NBA All-Star weekend.
