Tyrese Maxey named Eastern Conference Player of the Week

Philadelphia 76ers rising star Tyrese Maxey has gotten this season off to a tremendous start. With three games under the Sixers’ belts, Maxey is averaging 30.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists.

Now, in addition to the stat sheet, he is getting recognition to show for it. For the first time in his career, Maxey was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week by the NBA.

The young guard has made leaps and bounds in play every season of his career, and he looks poised to make another jump this campaign. Maxey has looked absolutely stellar to start this season. With James Harden still out for the 76ers, Maxey’s responsibilities as both a scorer and a playmaker have multiplied, but he’s taking it all in stride. His 30.3 points per game are only part of the picture, with Maxey’s facilitator skills impressing as well with just three turnovers on 19 assists (6.3:1 assist to turnover ratio) to start off this campaign. He’s making smart passes, sinking his shots, and is quickly becoming an unstoppable force when he works in tandem with Joel Embiid. Sure, the season is very young and it’s a small sample size, but it’s been extremely encouraging to see so far.

Maxey’s Western Conference counterpart for week one is Nikola Jokic, who is averaging 26.3 points per game so far for the 3-0 Denver Nuggets. Not bad company for Maxey to be in the same conversation with.

Maxey and the Sixers have a few days off before they take the court again on Thursday night hosting the Toronto Raptors at the Wells Fargo Center.