Tyrese Maxey honestly broke down one of the biggest issues fans believe the Philadelphia 76ers will have this season.
The 76ers traded for Jaylen Brown and signed LeBron James this offseason, immediately catapulting the side to be one of the biggest contenders in the NBA.
However, with four All-Stars on the team, there is a concern that the quartet of Brown, James, Maxey, and Joel Embiid won’t be able to share the ball amongst themselves.
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty ImagesTyrese Maxey gets real about ‘No.1 option’ criticism of the Philadelphia 76ersSpeaking to HoopsHype in a recent interview, Tyrese Maxey was asked about who on the Philadelphia 76ers will be the number one option during clutch situations.
Maxey suggested that they have put together a brilliant squad, but they trust all the players. However, he does think that the 76ers’ success will depend on everyone checking their ego at the door.
“I think it just depends on what the situation is. I think we have the ultimate confidence in a lot of different guys.
“People want to say VJ is our fifth option, but last year, he took a lot of shots in the clutch. He made a lot of shots in the clutch, too…
“It’s going to be different people. We’re going to see how it goes, how it flows. The biggest thing is we can’t have anybody on this team have an ego.
“We have two guys that have won the regular-season MVPs, two guys that have won Finals MVPs, multiple gold medal winners on this team, multiple 25+ PPG (scorers), All-Stars and All-NBA players. We’re all accomplished. The ego has to drop, and we have to do it collectively.”
Philadelphia 76ers will benefit from LeBron James’ final LA Lakers experienceWhile the concerns surrounding Maxey, Embiid, and Brown all being ball-dominant players are valid, the same cannot be said about LeBron James.
For much of his career, James was trusted with the ball in his hands, with teams trusting that his immense basketball IQ and all-time great court vision would allow him to make the best play each time.
However, in his last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, James played a deferential role behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Now 41 years old, James accepted that he can play off-ball and contribute at a high level as the third option, while letting Doncic and Reaves dictate the offense.
But during the playoffs, when Doncic and Reaves were both out, James shouldered the responsibility as the first option and helped lead the Lakers to an unexpected first-round win over the Houston Rockets.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see James do the same with the 76ers and accept the responsibility of conducting the offense in deep playoff situations when the team needs his experience.
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