Tyrese Maxey gets honest on 'extremely hard' mental toll of 76ers' season
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No one on the Philadelphia 76ers wanted their 2024-25 season to go the way it has currently gone. All the excitement around the Big 3 of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George has run dry — and it almost certainly won't be coming back soon.
The Sixers fell to 15-24 on the season in a loss to the New York Knicks. Embiid missed his sixth consecutive game and has only played in 13 games to this point. Except for the otherworldly injury-riddled New Orleans Pelicans falling into the deepest depths of the Western Conference standings, the Sixers have been the most surprising team in a bad way this season.
When asked how mentally taxing this season has been, Maxey admitted that it hasn't been easy. But he also stressed that he’s looking at the overall positive of being in the NBA and is focusing on helping his teammates stay positive, too.
Tyrese Maxey on the mental/emotional drain of this season:
"It's definitely hard. It's definitely difficult. Like you said, I've won at every level all my career, so I think it got it to me early. Like early in the season…Now, I don't feel, like, pressure or anything. I just… pic.twitter.com/kybih84r1G
— On Pattison (@OnPattison) January 16, 2025
"It’s definitely hard. It’s definitely difficult," Maxey said. "Like you said, I’ve won at every level all my career, so I think it got it to me early…Now, I don’t feel pressure or anything. I just feel like I want to go out there and compete every single night and I want whoever’s out there to take the opportunity and don’t take it for granted because it doesn’t always come around like that in the NBA."
Tyrese Maxey opens up on disappointing 76ers season
Guys like Justin Edwards and Jeff Dowtin Jr. aren't always going to get the chance to play extended minutes, so Maxey is telling them to take advantage of every opportunity. Although those opportunities are legitimate chances to play extended minutes, they come when things are going wrong for the Sixers.
The 76ers have suffered from brutal injury developments and made things hard on themselves with poor performances on the floor. This roster was touted as one that could survive Embiid’s absences but it has done anything but. Although winning games without Embiid has been compounded by injuries to other key players throughout the season, there have still been plenty of chances for the Sixers to win without him going to waste.
Things are only going to get tougher. The 76ers have lost each of their last four games and are about to begin a road trip against three teams in the playoff picture. Their first game home after that trip? The Cleveland Cavaliers.
While the playoffs are not out of the question for the 76ers — they're just outside the play-in territory — it’s not going to be easy to claw their way in.
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