LeBron James is a Philadelphia 76er. I know you’ll have read that a lot by now, but I don’t think another mention hurts when it still feels this surreal.
There’s so much to think about with LeBron’s arrival. Beyond the excitement that the possible greatest player of all time chose Philly for his final ring chase, signing on the absurd value of a minimum contract, there are all the basketball nuances to consider. How much will he even need to score on a team with Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, and another rising star in VJ Edgecombe? How will LeBron perform defensively as the new power forward? How will Nick Nurse stagger the team’s stacked array of stars and scoring talent?
There’s lots to think about and look forward to.
For now, though, let’s focus on LeBron’s new All-NBA teammate, Tyrese Maxey. Because their relationship on the court has the potential to be the most entertaining and dynamic of any new combination LeBron will form on the team.
We all know Maxey has blossomed into a stellar, high-volume scorer. He just set a new career-high with 28.3 points per game on a 58.8 true shooting percentage last season (his most efficient season in three years) as he made the All-NBA Third Team for the first time. At every level of the floor, Maxey’s versatility and efficiency as a scorer has reached elite levels. He can burn opponents not only with his speed and acrobatic finishing, but his smooth dribbling and pull-up shooting. And along with his scoring talent, his passing has steadily improved over the course of his career as well. He’s a sharper playmaker and pick-and-roll leader who takes great care of the ball, and just averaged a career-high 6.6 assists to only 2.4 turnovers per game.
However, Maxey has always thrived most when he’s able to spend a healthy amount of time doing what he does best: being one of the top off-ball scorers in the NBA.
He’s always excelled as a frenetic attacker off the catch with how he can burst downhill against closeouts and scrambling defenses, and his shooting off movement and running off screens has only improved throughout his career. He can hit threes on the catch and around screens at speed, at tough angles, and from well beyond the arc. Apart from a down spell in 2024-25 with three-point shooting, Maxey has routinely shot lights out on catch-and-shoot threes for years:
2022-23: 45.5 percent on 3.5 attempts per game
2023-24: 44.4 percent on 3.1 attempts per game
2025-26: 41.7 percent on 3.4 attempts per game
Maxey got to do that more for part of last season next to Edgecombe and Paul George (when the latter was actually available), but 2024-25 in particular showed where Maxey’s performance can be hindered by a higher on-ball workload. For starters, he had a career-high usage of 29.8 percent (slightly above his 29.4 in 2025-26). On top of that, he was assisted on by far the lowest percentage of his two-pointers (30.7) and three-point attempts of his career (49.1 — well below the second-lowest mark of his career last season at 59.5). It’s the least efficient season he’s had apart from his rookie year, finishing with a 56.2 true shooting percentage.
Not having a sky-high creation workload is where Maxey excels most. This is where LeBron can help Maxey be his best.
James can operate anywhere. He can lead pick-and-rolls, be a passing hub from the top of the floor in slower possessions, still run out and orchestrate transition play alongside the speed of the Sixers’ guards, play from the post and elbows, be a screener and short roller. LeBron’s a brilliant passer in all these situations. He can manipulate defenses in any scenario, and Maxey will be there to take advantage. Whether he’s attacking off the catch, flying off pin-downs and flare screens, or simply darting around as a cutter or relocating for threes, LeBron will be able to find him at just the right time, with just the right pass placement.
Imagine swapping guys like Rui Hachimura and Marcus Smart in some of the possessions below, who need to favor staying in the corner, for Tyrese Maxey. The potential for how Maxey can be used is night and day in comparison. Maxey is going to make a killing in simple possessions where LeBron drives and kicks after instantly collapsing a defense, passes from the post, or with Maxey using easy actions like slip screens, running floppy, or inverted pick-and-rolls to dart into space at the arc.
Last season, LeBron calmly averaged 7.2 assists per game alongside Luka Dončić and assisted on 34.1 percent of the Lakers’ made field goals when was on the floor. He’s even the NBA’s all-time leader in three-point assists, with 23 years of perfecting the craft of setting up others for easier looks at the arc. That, combined with how effectively LeBron still attacks the paint and collapses defenses inside (he scored 11.1 points per game in the paint last season, still good enough for 20th in the league) will only create more opportunities for Maxey and others to get open.
We also can’t overlook how the downhill pressure of Jaylen Brown, who ranked second in the NBA in drives per game last season at 19.1, is going to help create space for Maxey.
Just think of the headaches defenses will have against a LeBron-Embiid pick-and-roll, too. Embiid doesn’t need to be exploding down the lane to still pull in defenders with the threat of him attacking inside, getting mismatches, or chances to find close positioning inside to set up for easy scores. Maxey should find plenty of space when he’s running off pin-downs or cutting into space alongside these actions.
The potential of the Maxey-LeBron two-man game is tantalising for the Sixers as well. Dribble hand-offs can be a great tool for Maxey, partly due to the danger James will pose if he gets a switch thanks to the size, speed and downhill force he has. If defenses double LeBron, that only frees up more space for Maxey to run into space for three or cut. If Maxey pulls the attention of both defenders towards the arc, that leaves chances for LeBron to keep the ball himself and fly into the paint.
Having LeBron’s elite short-roll passing — whether that’s to eventually kick back out to a relocating Maxey or other shooters — is going to be another fun new wrinkle for the offense.
Over the last week, there’s been plenty of talk about there only being one ball and how will the Sixers’ offense work with so many stars. Of course, a team with this much new talent will need time to figure things out. Yet everyone getting a few less touches hardly seems like as much of an issue when LeBron’s passing and gravity will be creating easier looks for everyone else.
And as for Maxey, being a top off-ball/secondary scorer next to one of the very best passers and basketball minds we’ve ever seen… How could that not help him?
It’s also easy seeing LeBron embracing the role of lead playmaker on this team. We’ve already seen what he can do when he leans into an even more pass-heavy role, like when he operated as the Lakers’ clear-cut point guard in 2019-20 and led the league in assists for fun with 10.2 per game.
Sure, there’s only so much you want to take the ball out of Maxey’s hands. Clearly you don’t want to demote him to standing in the corner — but that’s not going to happen when he has such skill operating off ball.
Maxey is eager and willing to adapt his role anyway.
As Chris Haynes has mentioned, the Sixers’ guard was “relentless” in his recruitment of LeBron, doing all he could to communicate and convince LeBron that Philadelphia was the right place for him to be. That included Maxey emphasizing he’d make any sacrifices needed to his own game to make the fit right for James.
It’s inevitable Maxey’s usage will drop now the Sixers have added Brown and LeBron, but this is where firmly staggering stars, finding optimal duos, and giving each star a healthy dose of usage will be key. Having the option to have multiple stars and creators on the floor at all times can be a superpower for this team, not a flaw.
This also gives the Sixers the kind of top-end creation and depth so they have security for any times LeBron or Embiid are injured, or simply need rest to help ensure they are in the best condition possible to go all out in the playoffs. That matters even more than ever now, with the added urgency for LeBron to win another ring in his last two seasons.
Top-end depth is one of the many luxuries of this reloaded team that Mike Gansey has assembled (shoutout Gansey for a truly ridiculous debut offseason as president of basketball ops. What an all-time entrance to a front office.)
When next season rolls around, with LeBron in town, the stage will be set for Maxey to be the best, most efficient version of himself yet.
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