Kevin Durant had some praise for Tyrese Maxey. Last Sunday, the best of the best in the NBA gathered for an East versus West matchup in Indiana for the 2024 All-Star game.
For the first time in his career, Tyrese Maxey represented the Philadelphia 76ers on one of the biggest stages the game has to offer. Before Maxey and the rest of the All-Stars took the floor on Sunday, the young Sixers guard landed some major praise from Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant. When the future Hall of Famer was asked about some of the top players in the game from the younger generation, Durant acknowledged Maxey as one of the new faces of the league.
“It’s a lot of guys,” Durant told reporters in Indiana. “But you see Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], Book (Devin Booker), Luka [Doncic], Tyrese Maxey, Tyrese Haliburton, so many guys inspiring the next generation of hoopers after them to become basketball players that you can’t just pinpoint it to one or two guys. It’s about pushing the game forward, setting a different standard of how we play, and these guys are doing it right now.” Durant might’ve faced a lot of criticism throughout his career due to his past decisions to join superteams, but there’s no denying he’s been one of the best players in the game since he joined the NBA as the second-overall pick in 2007.
With 14 All-Star nods, six All-NBA First Team acknowledgments, two NBA Finals MVPs, and an NBA MVP trophy on his resume, Durant knows what success looks like in the league. Therefore, Maxey was honored to hear his name mentioned by the Suns superstar. “You have to appreciate that,” Maxey told For the Win. “He is one of the greatest, honestly. As kids, my generation looked up to him when we were growing up. He is probably one of the most unguardable players to ever play the game of basketball.
To have that recognition from him is much love, and I really appreciate him for that.” Since landing in the NBA out of Kentucky in 2020, Maxey has garnered a lot of praise from his NBA peers. Four years in, the 23-year-old is having a career season by averaging 26 points, six assists, and four rebounds while shooting 38 percent from deep.
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