The Philadelphia 76ers have been treading water this season with Joel Embiid and Paul George, among others, missing time, but Tyrese Maxey has been the biggest constant.
And George had quite high praise for the guard.
“He’s special,” George told Tony Jones of The Athletic. “I thought he had a phenomenal year last year, but it got lost in the season that we had as a team. Because of that, people didn’t really talk about him heading into this season. But, when you watch him just take over games and get us timely buckets, it’s special to see. We’re asking him to do so much. We’re asking him to play a ton of minutes and he’s delivering.
“He’s the heart and soul of this team. This is similar to what Allen Iverson once did for the city. He’s our battery, and we’re witnessing one of them ones.”
Maxey has appeared in all 14 games and is leading the NBA at 40.3 minutes a night while averaging 31.9 points, 7.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals and shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from deep.
As of Thursday at 10 a.m. ET, FanDuel Sportsbook has Maxey tied with Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama for the sixth-lowest MVP odds at +10,000 (bet $100 to win $10,000). He is behind only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Cade Cunningham.
Any time a 76ers player is compared to Iverson is particularly notable, as the Hall of Famer remains an icon in the city of Philadelphia after his 12 years with the franchise that selected him with the No. 1 overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft.
While the production was one thing, Iverson’s heart on the floor and ability to play larger than his 6′ frame endeared him to fans in Philadelphia and around the league.
Maxey has also established himself as a fan favorite in Philadelphia and is carrying the 76ers despite so many injuries and inconsistency around him. They are 8-6 and battling for early playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference largely because of his presence in the lineup.