WATCH: Tyrese Maxey Gushes About Former All-Star Teammate

During an episode of the Deep 3 podcast, Tyrese Maxey talked about the impact that James Harden had on him when they were teammates with the 76ers. 

James Harden wasn't a member of the 76ers very long. He was traded to the team in February of 2022 and traded away to the Los Angeles Clippers in November 2023. 

Despite his short time in Philadelphia, Harden made quite and impression on Maxey. The blossoming star talked about how much easier Harden made the game saying: 

"He was able to get Joel a lot of easy shots. He got me a lot of easy shots. But it was all about trust. From day one when he came in, the first thing he said to me was, “Listen, don’t think you’re not going to get the ball. Don’t think you’re not about to still be aggressive and keep building your game.” His first instinct was always, whether we scored or didn’t, he was going to pitch it ahead to me—let me score in transition, play that one-on-one game, shoot—whatever the case may be."

After bouncing around the league for several years, Harden has now found a home in Los Angeles. He will be entering his third season with the team after signing an extension in 2024." 

Maxey is close to achieving superstar status. With the Sixers missing so many players to injury for much of the year, he had to take more of the load. He responded by averaging a career-high 26.3 points a game and making his first All-Star game.