April 16, 2026
PHILADELPHIA – On Monday, Kyle Lowry called Tyrese Maxey for one of their daily chats.
"What do you think about Joel [Embiid] coming to the game?" the 40-year-old, now 20 seasons into his NBA career, asked Maxey. "It would just be a huge lift."
Maxey, who had talked to Embiid over the phone but had not seen the former NBA MVP since his appendectomy last week, did not ask his running mate to come. Embiid, up until Wednesday, had yet to be around the Sixers in any capacity since his emergency procedure. But "if he can," Maxey told Lowry, "he will."
At about 6:28 p.m., Embiid crept into the home locker room at Xfinity Mobile Arena. For 15 minutes, teammates filed in and out, each one more surprised than the next to see him. Finally, Maxey returned from his pregame workout. He audibly gasped. He hugged Embiid, and he got ready to follow through on his word.
Back in May, still reeling in the aftermath of a nightmare of a season, Lowry called Maxey for one of their daily chats.
"There's just no chance," Maxey told Lowry, "that I'm going to let you not make it to the playoffs next year."
By the time the Sixers and Magic tipped off in Wednesday's Play-In Tournament game, Lowry was far from the only person to whom Maxey felt obligated to uphold a promise.
Seven players in uniform for the Sixers had never been to the playoffs. Maxey recited their names – Dalen Terry, Dominick Barlow, Jabari Walker, Trendon Watford, Adem Bona, Justin Edwards and VJ Edgecombe – all off the top of his head. Terry came up to Maxey before the game and told him he had been eliminated from the Play-In Tournament three different times.
Maxey, whose 31 points led the Sixers to a win over the Magic to officially punch a ticket to the 2026 NBA Playoffs as the Eastern Conference's No. 7 seed, carried the Sixers across the finish line in the fourth quarter. He played three frustrating quarters; he was not bad, but by his standards – and the ones the Sixers need him to meet without Embiid – he was not quite good enough. A tremendous effort from his supporting cast kept the Sixers in front.
With about eight minutes left in the game, the Sixers were teetering. Their lead, at the time never higher than 11 points, had been trimmed to two. Offensively, the Sixers had stagnated, with Maxey and Paul George taking turns isolating. The ball was sticking and it opened the door for Orlando to get back in the game. Maxey had just connected on a triple, but the Magic responded with one of their own. The arena tensed up. Then Maxey took over.
First, Maxey split two defenders and converted a running floater, falling to the ground as the shot went in. With Orlando fearing another drive, on the next play he stepped back to his left and sunk a three. Then he went one-on-one, blew by one of the NBA's elite guard defenders in Jalen Suggs, and floated another shot in.
The crowd had gone from concerned to elated. Maxey had gone from frustrated to jubilant. Most importantly, the Sixers had gone from the doorstep of a collapse to firmly in the driver's seat.
"It was just me deciding, like, listen, I'm going to be aggressive," Maxey said. "I had some really good looks that I missed early in the third, that I made in the first half. So I was just really confident that I was going to make some shots."
Tyrese Maxey's five baskets in the fourth quarter of the Sixers' Play-In Tournament victory over Orlando on Wednesday: pic.twitter.com/k3Unlz99SF
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) April 16, 2026
"I think he's been doing a bit of that lately," Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said, "as far as understanding we need his greatness at the right time."
Maxey is in his sixth NBA season, and is now making his fifth trip to the playoffs. First, he was a rookie on the fringes of the rotation. Then he was an ascendent, young guard playing off of two of the best offensive players of a generation. In his fourth year, Maxey took a major step up. James Harden was gone, and the former wide-eyed rookie was now the primary ball-handler. He did all he could to will the Sixers past the New York Knicks, including one of the greatest shot-making sequences in franchise history. But it was not enough.
Nearly two years later, Maxey is a better player than he was then. But he has taken the biggest leap of them all in terms of role: He is the lead man, for however long Embiid is sidelined.
"That's a franchise player doing what he does best," Drummond said of Maxey. "The game got tight, and his level of focus and his attention to detail raised, and it showed what he did out there." After Sunday's regular-season finale, Edgecombe referred to Maxey as "our best player." That is certainly true while Embiid remains sidelined.
In some respects, though, Maxey is the head of the snake on a permanent basis here. In a difficult two-year period for the organization, one of its greatest victories is that the locker room has started to assume Maxey's mindset. Lowry has been a tremendous guide for Maxey as he faces the challenge of leading an NBA team. Most of that work happens behind closed doors and on those daily phone calls. But the extent to which Maxey's life has changed on the court is not hard to see.
"Mentality is definitely different," Maxey said. "Back then I was still attacking and still being aggressive, but it's a different situation."
The most difficult situation yet is now nearing. Game 1 against the Celtics in Boston is on Sunday afternoon. Maxey, facing the team with more high-caliber options to defend him than any other in the NBA, does not have James Harden by his side. For an indefinite period of time, Embiid is not going to be on the court alongside him, either. It is Maxey's turn to be the unquestioned leader, on and off the floor.
Nobody is expecting Maxey to lead the Sixers past the favorites in the Eastern Conference. But the Sixers have unwavering belief in their locker room. Their first step is done, and Maxey can officially say he kept his promise.
"It means everything," Maxey said. "It means everything, man. The way last season went, I just didn't want to have that feeling again. I just challenged myself last summer, and I feel like I rose to that challenge... We're here now, and we are in the playoffs and that's what matters most.... This is a good feeling, man, and now I'm just ready to compete."
