Tyrese Maxey Has Shown Skeptics He Can Make 3-Point Shots

Philadelphia 76ers Photo

Former Kentucky guard Tyrese Maxey had a lot of skeptics when it came to his 3-point shooting coming out of Kentucky three years ago. However, he just finished the NBA regular season No. 5 overall in 3-point accuracy at 43.3 percent for the Philadelphia 76ers.

That put him ahead of noted shooters such as Buddy Hield, Jalen Brunson, Joe Harris, Seth Curry, Klay Thompson, and Trae Young. He was even two spots in front of Stephen Curry who shot 42.7 percent.

Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers liked Maxey’s potential when the 76ers drafted him with the 21st pick in 2020 and liked his accuracy in practice his rookie season.

“Whether that (his rookie practice shooting) is going to translate into him being a top five 3-point shooter, you just don’t ever know that. That was probably past any of our expectations this early in his career. And that’s been great for us,” Rivers said before the playoffs started.

Veteran teammate Tobias Harris said Maxey’s work ethic has paid off in a big way.

“Even when you look at the types of 3’s that he hits, a lot of those are off the bounce, and they are the toughest ones. But that’s just something he works on and he’s gotten a whole lot better at it since coming out of college,” Harris said.

Maxey helped Philadelphia win 54 regular-season games when he averaged 20.3 points, 3.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.8 steals per game. He already has a 33-point game in the playoffs with coach John Calipari in attendance.

The former UK star told Jack McCaffery of The Delaware County Daily Times that he learned last year the playoffs were far different from regular-season games.

“Every game brings different challenges. Coaches make adjustments both ways every single game. I learned that every single possession matters. You have to be aware of your opponents and what they are doing, then you have to go out and execute from there,” Maxey said.

On “The Jim Rome Show” last week Maxey explained to the national radio audience how Kentucky coach John Calipari taught him to build his own confidence during his one year in college.

“He was extremely tough on me,  screaming at me every single day. And I appreciate him for that because now nothing can faze me when I get to the league,” Maxey said. “People can scream at me, people can do whatever they want to do, say whatever they want to say.

“Also, at Kentucky, you’re under the media every single night. You’re in the limelight, and it just gets you ready for the NBA because you know you’re on TV all the time, and everybody’s always talking about Kentucky, especially when you’re ranked top-five, top-ten. You have all these super freshmen and McDonald’s All-Americans.

“You’re under that fishbowl. You’re under that limelight and you have to go out there and perform your best under pressure. And that’s one reason why I really picked Kentucky. I knew Coach Cal would prepare for this moment right now.”

Maxey, 22, is making $2.7 million this season and the 76ers have a team option for the last year of his contract at $4.3 million.  Already there is speculation he could be in line for a five-year, $200 million maximum contract.