Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey not named East All-Star reserve

The NBA announced All-Star reserves Thursday night, and Tyrese Maxey did not make the cut.

Maxey is now averaging a career-best 27.1 points and 3.3 three-pointers per game this season, although his efficiency (43.6% overall, 34.0% from deep) has plunged relative to the past few years. The Sixers’ disappointing 19-27 record is likely what kept him from being named an All-Star for the second straight year, though.

To some extent, Maxey fell victim to a numbers game. At most, only six guards can make the All-Star team in each conference. Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson are the starters for the East, and there were plenty of other deserving backcourt candidates who also didn’t make the cut, including Trae Young, LaMelo Ball and Zach LaVine.

Maxey has the sixth-highest scoring average of any player who didn’t make the All-Star Game over the past decade, trailing only Bradley Beal (30.5 points per game in 2019-20), Ball (28.2 this season), Devin Booker (27.8 in 2022-23) and Kyrie Irving (27.4 in both 2019-20 and 2021-22). Points per game isn’t the only way to measure whether a player deserves an All-Star nod, but that’s noteworthy context nonetheless.

Had the Sixers’ season not gone off the rails from the jump, Maxey likely would be headed back to the All-Star Game. Luckily, he appears focused on more important matters.

“I’ll say this: I’m more happy about the way our team has been playing the past three weeks,” Maxey told reporters Tuesday about what another All-Star nod would mean to him. “We haven’t won every game of course, but it’s finally coming together. Guys are going out there and having fun, and guys are excited to come into the building and try to compete.”

Even with Paul George and Joel Embiid out of the lineup, Maxey helped guide the Sixers to back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings on Tuesday and Wednesday. He’s also riding a six-game streak in which he’s shot at least 50% from the field after clearing that threshold only six times across his first 33 games.

“I think earlier in the year, I was worried about what was going on,” Maxey admitted Tuesday. “Injuries and all that, it just kind of sucks. But now, I’ve just kind of had the mindset of whoever’s out here is out here. We’ve gotta go out here and play extremely hard and give ourselves a chance to win the game. And I know that’s gonna start with me, and I’m OK with that. I’m up for the challenge.”

It’s a bummer that Maxey won’t be headed to San Francisco for his second straight All-Star Game, but it might be a blessing in disguise. After all, he’s playing a career-high 37.9 minutes per game this season as he tries to keep the Sixers afloat sans George and Embiid. Get that man to a beach in Cabo for some well-deserved R&R during the All-Star break.