76ers' Tyrese Maxey wins Most Improved Player award
24/04/2024 01:06
Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey has won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for the 2023-24 season.
Maxey took home the hardware in his fourth season after becoming an All-Star and the 76ers’ second option behind Joel Embiid. Each season, the 21st overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft continues to prove that he
Tyrese Maxey is the 2023-24 Most Improved Player
Maxey in '22-23: Maxey in '23-24:
20.3 PTS 25.9 PTS
2.9 REBS 3.7 REBS
3.5 ASTS 6.2 ASTS
0.8 STLS 1.0 STLS pic.twitter.com/zbvv7X1zHj— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 23, 2024
While many foresaw a leap from Maxey, not many suggested that he could become the player he is today after just one offseason. He made major improvements to his game, notably developing further as a scorer while becoming more effective as a playmaker and defender. Maxey was a great off-ball threat coming into the season but has done a lot of work to grow as an independent creator.
Maxey excelled at finishing tough shots around the rim, breaking out fancy footwork and wonky angles to get his shot off. He also improved at drawing fouls and figuring out how to score in the mid-range, going to floaters or pull-up middies with more confidence.
In 70 games this season, Maxey averaged 25.9 points, 6.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game, which are all career highs. He also played a career-high 37.5 minutes per game but did substantially raise his points and assists per 100 possessions, going from 29.9 and 5.2 last season to 34.0 and 8.1 this season.
He scored 50 points three times this season, which only seven other players did at his age. The only other players this season with three 50-burgers were Embiid and Devin Booker. While Maxey’s scoring efficiency did take a dip with the extra workload, he still shot 45.0 percent from the field, 37.3 percent from deep and 86.8 percent from the free-throw line with a usage rate of 28 percent. Only eight other players posted 45-35-85 splits on that high of a usage percentage this season.
After the James Harden fiasco from this past offseason, Maxey came into the season with the expectation that he would be Embiid’s co-star. He was seen as a potential All-Star if he improved from last season. Maxey blew past what many thought he was capable of and played at an All-NBA-caliber level in the 2023-24 campaign.
Maxey, after finishing sixth in the voting two seasons ago, is the second player in 76ers history to win the Most Improved Player award along with 1994-95 Dana Barros.
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