Tyrese Maxey trails only Allen Iverson, Wilt Chamberlain for 76ers’ hottest starts ever – The Athletic
PHILADELPHIA — Every time Nick Nurse thinks there is a ceiling on Tyrese Maxey, the Philadelphia 76ers coach watches his star point guard break through the ceiling.
Take Tuesday night’s 121-102 win over the Washington Wizards, for example. Maxey had a good first half, with 15 points. Then, he scored 20 third-quarter points on his way to a game-high 35 points. By the way, Maxey played a season-low 29 minutes. And Tuesday’s 35 points put him in rare air within franchise history.
Through 20 games, Maxey has the third-best scoring start in team history, with 649 points. That trails Allen Iverson (681 in 2005-06) and Wilt Chamberlain (661 in 1965-66). Maxey has 20 consecutive 20-point games to start the season. Only Iverson and Joel Embiid have accomplished that. Maxey’s 13 career 35-point games put him fifth in team history.
Maxey, who is on pace to join Iverson (five times), Chamberlain (twice) and Embiid (three) as the only Sixers to average 30 points in a season, is etching his name into franchise lore with seemingly every game. And it’s impressing Nurse in a way that coaches rarely experience.
11th game of 30+ points this season for @TyreseMaxey
35 PTS | 6 AST | 4 STL@PALottery pic.twitter.com/IprCzw0N16
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 3, 2025
“It’s awesome, considering the names that he’s mentioned with,” Nurse said of Maxey. “It’s amazing for him to be in those conversations. Whenever I think he can’t continue to do this, he goes six or seven possessions and does whatever he wants. He can get any shot off he wants. He can move all over the court and get to any spot that he wants.
“What did he take, 26 shots tonight? He should shoot even more. That’s the big thing. Nobody is stopping him from doing what he wants to do.”
Maxey is becoming so lethal offensively that he’s in a position where he needs to find the balance between calling his own number and getting his teammates involved. To his credit, Maxey’s become much better at it than earlier in his career. And the big question remains, when can the Sixers get healthy around him? Maxey is dealing with the moving of the roster around him.
In one game, his help is Embiid. Next, it’s Paul George. Then, he loses Kelly Oubre for a few weeks. Then, Quentin Grimes misses a game. Maxey has been the rock in every way to what the Sixers have been able to accomplish, and his value to the franchise at this point is absolute.
The 76ers have yet to play with a full starting lineup this season. Even with an 11-9 record, there is a possibility for better. With three games in four nights looming against three good teams, Philadelphia is going to need its star guard more than ever.
Right now, Maxey is a star guard who is playing at almost historic levels.
