The Philadelphia 76ers have endured quite a tough season; for the past one and a half months, they have been without Joel Embiid, while Tyrese Maxey has also missed his fair share of games after sustaining a concussion. But Maxey, pressed into action as the 76ers' number one option with Embiid out, has more than risen to the occasion. On Monday night, Maxey had himself one of the best all-around games of his career, putting up 30 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists in a 98-91 victory for the 76ers over the Miami Heat.

In dropping 30 points against the Heat, Tyrese Maxey was able to insert his name in the same vein as one of the greatest 76ers players of all time in Allen Iverson. As pointed out by ClutchPoints Twitter (X), Maxey now has 20 30-point games this season, “the most by a player age 23 or younger” in 76ers history since The Answer accomplished the feat back in his rookie season (1996-97).

Being mentioned in the same breath as Iverson means that Maxey has truly arrived as a legitimate star for the 76ers. The entire season has been a coming out party for the 23-year old guard; in addition to the aforementioned feat, Maxey is also on pace to be just the third player in franchise history (in addition to Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain) to average 25+ points and five-plus assists in a single season.

Of Maxey's 20 30-point outings this season, 11 of them have come without Joel Embiid, making his contributions that much more impressive given the increased defensive attention he draws when he's the 76ers' primary scoring option. Make no mistake about it, the burden Maxey is carrying is heavy.

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The 76ers don't exactly have another top-notch shot creator flanking Maxey at the moment (although Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry, and Buddy Hield helped out against the Heat with double-digit scoring games), which means that the responsibility to create the majority of the team's offense falls on his shoulders.

Currently, Philadelphia is hanging on to the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference by the skin of their teeth, so Maxey may have to channel his inner Allen Iverson even further to prevent his team from falling to the play-in spots.