March 27, 2026, 2:15 p.m. ET
The Philadelphia 76ers have not had Tyrese Maxey since March 7 when the All-Star guard suffered a right finger tendon strain injury. The Sixers have relied on others to step up in his place and help them get the job done, but they would, obviously, like to have their star guard back.
Maxey has been seen in workouts using his left hand, but most recently, he has begun to shoot right-handed which is a big step forward for him. He’s averaging 29.0 points on the season and has been fantastic in a number of areas.
“I feel pretty good,” Maxey told reporters at practice on Friday. “Yeah. I just got a new splint. I don’t know if it was yesterday or a couple days ago. I’ve been working conditioning-wise, doing all the things that they need me to do. So, we’ll see.”
As Philadelphia moves forward, it has nine games left and is in prime position to climb back into the top 6 of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The Sixers are only half a game back of the Toronto Raptors for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot, and they own the tiebreaker, so there is a big chance for them. Especially, if Maxey can return after his re-evaluation at the end of March.
“Yeah, I think the main thing is just feeling comfortable and kind of listening to the doctors, listening to the people, that’s the training staff, and it’s hard sometimes, but they always want what’s best for us as players,” Maxey added. “Just keep listening to them, and whenever they allow me to get back out there and do more and more things, and I’ll keep doing that.”
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When the injury happened in the loss to the Atlanta Hawks in early March, it certainly looked bad. Maxey had a collision with teammate Adem Bona when both were going for a rebound with 16 seconds left in the game. Maxey then looked like he had a shocked look on his face and he was trying to get off the court as quickly as possible. He reflected on that night.
“When it happened, I’m just like, ‘Oh, man.’ Like, I knew something wasn’t right, you know what I mean?” Maxey began. “Like, I get hit all the time, and I just bounce back up, but like, the way it felt, the way my finger was bending, it just didn’t seem right. I knew something was wrong, and I was really trying to roll myself off the court so I didn’t get ran over.”
Smart move by Maxey as he was looking to figure out a way to stay safe at that point.
“I was trying to explain that,” he finished. “They were like where are you going? I was rolling off the court. Like, it hurt, but it didn’t hurt that bad, trying to get off the court so nobody ran me over anything. Bona already ran me over. I like to play. I like being out there every single night for my teammates, for this organization. So it was a little sad, but, man, like I said, I got some good rest, though. I definitely got some good rest, and I feel pretty good.”
The Sixers will begin a 3-game road trip on Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets. The hope is that Maxey will be able to return after this upcoming trip.