Tyrese Maxey has been sidelined since March 10 with a tendon injury in his right pinkie finger, leaving the Philadelphia 76ers to navigate a brutal stretch without their All-Star guard. Philadelphia sits at 39-33, clinging to seventh place in the Eastern Conference and fighting to avoid the Play-In Tournament.Â
But Maxey isn’t letting a bum finger stop him from having some fun.
The 25-year-old made his debut on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Tuesday night, and naturally, the conversation turned to his well-documented Marvel obsession. Fallon posed a challenge to the self-proclaimed MCU superfan: build an Avengers starting five using NBA players. Maxey didn’t hesitate.
He went with LeBron James as Captain America. Makes sense. The 41-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star has been leading teams for two decades, inspires both fear and respect, and refuses to slow down, no matter how many times people predict his decline. If anyone embodies Steve Rogers’ stubborn durability and unshakable leadership, it’s the guy who still shows up at 5 a.m. for workouts, ready to outwork players half his age.
Meanwhile, Thor went to Luka Doncic, the Lakers guard with the godlike offensive toolkit. The Slovenian star has the size, the power, and the flair for the dramatic that would make the God of Thunder proud. Plus, both have a habit of showing up at the most important moments looking like they just rolled out of bed and still dominating everyone in sight.