Early-season injuries have already hit the Philadelphia 76ers, but it doesn’t matter when Tyrese Maxey is playing like an MVP candidate.
That’s not hyperbole, either. Granted, we’re only three games into the 2025-26 season, but ignore that for a second while we talk about Maxey lighting up the NBA. The former Kentucky guard has Philly off to a 3-0 start following Monday night’s 136-124 win over the Orlando Magic. Maxey popped off for 43 points, eight assists, and four rebounds in 41 minutes against the Magic, shooting 15-32 from the field and 4-11 from long range.
That stat line alone is impressive enough, but Maxey has been doing something similar for three straight games now. He dropped 40 points (13-24 FG) and six assists in the 76ers’ season-opening win over the Boston Celtics, which he followed up with 28 points, nine assists, and six rebounds the following night out, this time against the Charlotte Hornets.
For those keeping count, that’s 111 combined points for Maxey through three games. That ranks second all-time in franchise history for the first three games of a season, trailing only some guy named Wilt Chamberlain, who poured in 125 points to start the 1965-66 season. Maxey is now appearing on MVP betting boards, all while doing this with a hampered Joel Embiid and without Paul George. He’s averaging a league-leading 37 points, 7.7 assists, and four rebounds in 41.7 minutes (also a league-high) per outing on shooting splits of 46.1/51.7/86.7.
Not bad for a 24-year-old!
If it weren’t for the offensive explosion happening across the league early into the season, Maxey might have walked away with Eastern Conference Player of the Week. He was in consideration when the award was announced Monday, but it was always going to be tough to steal it away from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has been averaging 36 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists per outing for the Milwaukee Bucks (2-1).
We should mention that Maxey isn’t doing all of this by himself, though. He has a rookie next to him that’s been playing at a high level. Former Baylor star VJ Edgecombe, who was taken No. 3 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, has been ballin’ out. Edgecombe is averaging 25 points, six assists, and 5.7 rebounds per contest on shooting splits of 50/40/75 next to Maxey.
Once the 76ers finally decide to move on from the old guard and build the future of the team around Maxey, Edgecombe, and others, we could see something special brewing in Philly with a former ‘Cat paving the way.