Maxey Reveals His Plan for Playing Alongside LeBron

Sixers' Tyrese Maxey talks preparation for playing with LeBron James

DETROIT — Playing with Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James is no easy task.

He is a unique superstar with an incredibly high basketball IQ.

It takes a lot of work to be able to find a way to be effective out on the floor next to him.

Tyrese Maxey has found a way to do so in the early part of the season.

The 7-year guard is averaging 28.0 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 48.6% from the floor.

In the early part of the season, Maxey and James have found a way to dominate.

The Sixers have a plus-7.1 net rating when the two of them share the floor per databallr.

It is easy to compare, but the immediate thought is James' partnership with Kyrie Irving during his days with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Another comparison is James' partnership with Dwyane Wade while with the Miami Heat.

Watching those duos on the floor helped Maxey grow something similar with James while in Philadelphia.

"I was 16 years old and I watched probably every playoff game that they had," Maxey said after a win over the Pistons on Wednesday.

"So, I was a big Kyrie fan growing up and I was a big D-Wade fan."

"So somehow I had to watch LeBron."

"But I did learn a lot from that because LeBron does a good job of getting those guys open."

James is so fantastic at orchestrating things on the offensive end.

He picked the Pistons apart on Wednesday just by making sure everybody was in the right places on the floor.

He was barking out orders and found his teammates with some eye-popping passes.

Just as he did with guys like Irving and Wade in the past, he is doing it with Maxey in Philadelphia.

James also did this with Steph Curry and Kevin Durant in the Olympics.

There have been plenty of instances in which James has hit Maxey right in his shooting pocket for an easy 3-point look.

This happens off a pindown screen or whatever action the Sixers are running.

Maxey, possessing a high understanding of this game in his own right, also understands how he can get James going on the offensive end.

"He does a good job of just being in the pocket for him so he can get open so we can hit him," Maxey added.

"So I've been watching a lot of that old Kyrie film, watched a little bit of Steph and KD film and then just film with me and Bron."

"So, it's been good."

The Sixers will look to continue to grow as a group when they continue the road trip on Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

BACKGROUND ON THE SIXERS' SEASON SO FAR

The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 2026-27 NBA season with championship expectations.

LeBron James joined the team in the offseason after spending eight years with the Los Angeles Lakers.

During his Lakers tenure from 2018 to 2026, James played 479 total games and scored 12,402 points.

He had a winning record with the Lakers, going 287–192 overall.

Notably, he won the NBA title in 2020 inside the Orlando Bubble.

But in the subsequent years, the Lakers failed to even reach the NBA Finals.

James is hoping for one last swing with the Philadelphia 76ers this season.

Tyrese Maxey has emerged as the team's second star alongside James.

Maxey was drafted by the Sixers in 2020 and has developed into an All-Star caliber guard.

His scoring average of 28.0 points per game this season is a career high.

His assist average of 5.4 per game shows his growth as a playmaker.

His shooting percentage of 48.6% from the floor is efficient for a guard who takes difficult shots.

HOW MAXEY STUDIED THE GREAT DUOS

Maxey's approach to learning how to play with James is methodical.

He specifically studied film of Kyrie Irving playing alongside James in Cleveland.

Irving and James won the NBA championship together in 2016.

That partnership was known for Irving's ability to create his own shot while James ran the offense.

Maxey also studied Dwyane Wade's partnership with James in Miami.

Wade and James won two championships together in 2012 and 2013.

Their partnership was built on Wade's off-ball movement and finishing ability.

Maxey added film study of Steph Curry and Kevin Durant from their Olympic run.

Curry and Durant played with James on the 2024 USA Basketball team.

That team won the gold medal in Paris.

Maxey said he also watches film of himself and James from this season.

"So, it's been good," he said.

THE PISTONS GAME AS A CASE STUDY

The game against the Pistons on Wednesday showed how the Maxey-James partnership works in real time.

James orchestrated the offense from the start.

He barked out orders and put teammates in the right positions.

He delivered eye-popping passes that led to easy baskets.

Maxey benefited from James' ability to find him in his shooting pocket.

This means James passes the ball to the exact spot where Maxey can catch and shoot without adjusting.

Maxey also showed his own ability to create for James.

He worked to get open in the pocket so James could hit him.

Then James could cut or relocate for his own shot.

This two-way chemistry is what made the Irving-James and Wade-James duos so effective.

THE PLUS-MINUS STAT THAT MATTERS

The Sixers have a plus-7.1 net rating when Maxey and James share the floor.

Net rating measures the difference between points scored and points allowed per 100 possessions.

A plus-7.1 net rating is elite.

For context, the best teams in the NBA typically have net ratings around plus-8 or plus-9.

This suggests the Sixers are a dominant team when both stars are on the court together.

The sample size is still early in the season.

But the early returns are promising for Philadelphia's championship hopes.

WHAT OTHER ANALYSTS ARE SAYING

Skip Bayless has been critical of James' Lakers tenure.

Speaking to ESPN's First Take, Bayless described James' eight years with the Lakers as "completely overrated."

Bayless mocked the 2020 title, which was won inside the Orlando Bubble with no fans in attendance.

He blasted: "I've got to say this: LeBron's LA tenure was completely overrated."

"He got pass after pass in LA just because in 2020, down in the Orlando bubble, he won a 'Mickey Mouse' championship."

"Since that championship, LeBron as a Laker went 16 and 26 in the playoffs."

"He and AD campaigned for Rob [Pelinka] to go get Russell Westbrook."

"That's who they wanted, way to go."

"Congratulations."

"They missed the playoffs twice, they got swept twice, and they got gentleman's swept two more times."

The Russell Westbrook trade was a critical turning point for the Lakers.

It was a big swing made by the franchise, and it just did not work.

The team traded away too much defensive and shooting depth.

This left the team unbalanced.

Add in injury issues for Anthony Davis, and it combined for one of the unhappiest spells of James' career.

Stephen A. Smith defended James on the same show.

He said: "I want to repeat this: there is no team in the NBA that is better off without LeBron James."

"Nobody."

"The idea that any team is b" — the quote was cut off in the source.

OFF-COURT DRAMA: LEBRON'S LEGAL ACTION

Separately, James is taking legal action against an AI sports-betting app.

Attorneys for James sent a cease and desist letter to Bron AI.

Bron AI is a sports-gambling app that used a popular nickname for James.