Maxey Shines: 54 Points and Personal Best in 76ers vs Bucks Victory

Tyrese Maxey: The NBA’s Hardest Working Player

The Philadelphia 76ers guard, Tyrese Maxey, is shaping up to be the hardest-working player in the NBA this season.

His intense game pace has not affected his performance so far.

Maxey, who was already averaging the most minutes per game in the league, with 40.3, achieved an impressive feat. He scored 54 points, his personal best, and dished out nine assists in 46 and a half minutes during the overtime victory against the Milwaukee Bucks, with a final score of 123-114. According to Elias Sports Bureau data, Maxey and Wilt Chamberlain are the only 76ers players to record at least 50 points and nine assists in the same game.

I am blessed. I thank God for this. Any time you find yourself in a conversation with Wilt, who scored 100 points, you can’t complain.
Tyrese Maxey

Maxey’s outstanding performance came one day after playing 39 minutes in the loss against the Toronto Raptors. The 76ers have relied even more on Maxey due to the injuries of Joel Embiid and Paul George. Embiid missed his sixth consecutive game due to knee problems, while George made his season debut after missing Philadelphia’s first 12 games following surgery on his left knee. Philadelphia, with a positive win-loss record, is maintained thanks, in large part, to the performance of Maxey, who averages 33.4 points, ranking second in the league, only behind Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers (34.6).

He’s special. He’s talented. What you guys don’t see and what stands out is that after the game, in a back-to-back, with more than 45 minutes played, he goes and lifts weights. That says a lot about who he is, why he is where he is. I’ve been around a lot of great players in this league. That’s what they do. They do things like that that keep them going, keep them strong, always working on themselves.
Paul George

Maxey, who was selected for the All-Star Game in the 2023-24 season, played only 52 games in the 2024-25 season due to a right hand finger injury that ended his season in early March. He took advantage of his rest time, watching videos daily during the offseason. He returned with a tenacity evident in the last games. It was not guaranteed that Maxey would play against the Bucks. He was listed as probable after suffering a contusion in his right quadriceps against Toronto. He recovered, received treatment, and decided to play as long as he could run effectively. He wanted to amend his performance in the game against the Raptors, where he scored 24 points, but only took 14 shots.

I definitely wasn’t as aggressive as I should have been. I got hit in the head and also in the quadriceps, so it was a little difficult for me.
Tyrese Maxey

His teammates and coaches told him he needed to shoot more. He responded against the Bucks with 18 of 30 field goals, 6 of 15 three-pointers, and 12 of 14 free throws. His two free throws with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter forced overtime. After resting for a little more than half of the second quarter, Maxey did not come out of the game after halftime. 76ers coach Nick Nurse mentioned that they usually have a conversation to start the fourth quarter, but Maxey didn’t want to have it that night and preferred to stay on the court. Maxey mentioned that the Bucks’ zone defense in the second half helped him maintain his energy. He felt that he didn’t have to work too hard to score, which reduced fatigue. Maxey is willing to stay on the court as long as necessary in each game, even if that means leading the league in minutes played.