On Sunday evening, NBA All-Star weekend concluded with the big game (or games, in this case) itself at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Among the starters for the event was Philadelphia 76ers star guard Tyrese Maxey, who has been enjoying a dominant 2025-26 season so far this year.
This was Maxey's second All-Star nod of his career, having previously made the team back in 2024, and recently, the star got 100% real on the differences he noticed between this time and his first go around.
“I feel a lot less out of place,” Maxey said, per Gina Mizell of the Inquirer. “[Two years ago, I] was nervous. It’s your first time. You don’t know when to talk, when not to talk. Now I walk into the locker room of my team, I was the second-oldest. “I played against those guys growing up as kids, and it was really fun to be in the locker room.”
Indeed, Maxey has embraced more of a veteran role not only at the All-Star game but also on the 76ers, serving as a mentor for rookie sensation VJ Edgecombe so far this year.
Maxey and Edgecombe have combined to form one of the most explosive backcourts anywhere in the NBA, torching opposing defenses with their lightning speed and tough shot-making ability from the perimeter.
Maxey and the 76ers will be hoping that Joel Embiid is able to stay at least somewhat healthy down the stretch of the 2025-26 season, and that Paul George is able to return to form after serving out the rest of his 25-game suspension.
If those things happen, and Maxey and Edgecombe continue their torrid paces from the first half of the year, the 76ers will not be an opponent that anyone wants to see come playoff time.
The 76ers will next hit the floor on Thursday evening at home against the Atlanta Hawks.
