Paul George Praises the Play of Young Sixers Star

The Philadelphia 76ers could have been screwed. Joel Embiid is on the tail end of his career, and Paul George could be as well. They’ve both faced such severe injury issues over their careers that it was starting to look like building a championship team surrounding them was unlikely, and Tyrese Maxey looks like a failed experiment.

However, that’s not entirely the case. Sure, Embiid and George aren’t going to be carrying any team to an NBA championship. However, Tyrese Maxey has definitively shown that he is now the Sixers' best player. Even if this iteration of the Sixers can’t go all the way, Maxey is a star that the Sixers can build a future around.

As of Friday, Maxey is second in the league in scoring (33.4 ppg), seventh in the league in assists (7.9 apg), and is grabbing a career-high 4.7 boards a game. After dropping 54 points on 18-of-30 shooting the other night, this is what Paul George had to say about his scorching hot teammate. 

"He's special. He's gifted. I think what you guys don't see and what stands out is after the game, on a back-to-back, 50, 45-plus minutes, he goes and lifts. That just speaks volumes to who he is, why he's where he's at. I've been around a lot of great guys in this league. That's what they do. They do the stuff like that keeps them going, keeps them strong, always working on themselves."

While Embiid may never bring a title to Philly, Sixers fans can rest a little easier. Maxey is looking like a bona fide star, and people are starting to notice. Praise like this from George may seem like nothing, but when it comes to being a superstar in this league, he would know.