If there was any doubt about it, these past few weeks should clear things up–the Philadelphia 76ers are now Tyrese Maxey’s team.

The 25-year-old guard has carried the Sixers this season as the team’s multiple-time NBA All-Stars, Joel Embiid and Paul George, have been sidelined with injuries. Maxey is doing all the heavy lifting for this team–playing a league-leading 40.7 minutes per game–and has been nothing short of spectacular.

His 33.4 points per game is second in the entire NBA behind only Luka Doncic while he is also averaging 7.9 assists which is on pace to be a career-high for him by far.

Maxey puts in the maximum effort night in and night out for Philadelphia and this was most evident in their recent victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. With the Sixers coming off a tough 121-112 home loss to the Toronto Raptors the prior evening, it would have been understandable if they came out flat on the road versus the Bucks.

Instead, Maxey responded with the best scoring performance of his six-year career.

The 2024 Most Improved Player set a new career-high with 54 points, marking his fourth 50-point game in the NBA. Philadelphia emerged victorious over Milwaukee in overtime, 123-114, to improve their record on the season to 9-6.

As usual, Maxey’s standout performance was done with the utmost efficiency as he made 18-of-30 field goals and 12-of-14 free throws. He was the only Sixer to score in the last five minutes of regulation, scoring the team’s last eight points that helped keep them afloat against the Bucks. The one-time NBA All-Star also hit six three-pointers and recorded five rebounds, nine assists, three steals, and three blocks to round out his all-around effort.

These types of performances have become the status quo for Maxey and the timing of Philadelphia’s rollout of their new throwback jerseys could not have been any better. Maxey’s play this season is largely reminiscent of the most iconic guard in the Sixers’ recent history, Allen Iverson–all the way down to his choice of hairstyle.

If Maxey keeps this up and Embiid can stay on the floor, Philadelphia could finally finish Iverson’s unfinished business and win a title. Maxey has everything that a team could want in a playoff lead guard—a fearless mindset and the ability to hit shots late in a game. The future is bright with him at the helm of this team; the question now is whether the Sixers can fully capitalize on this opportunity.