How Tyrese Maxey can become 76ers' new central superstar for 2026-27 NBA season image
40 days- that's how much time is left until the 2026-27 NBA season officially starts. The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot to figure out, largely because of the luxury of talent they have. Jaylen Brown and LeBron James just landed with them. Veteran acquisitions like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Dean Wade should also make them stronger. Adding a former NBA MVP like Joel Embiid and a rising young gun in V.J. Edgecombe makes them a real threat. But there is one name that will likely stand above these greats: Tyrese Maxey.
Can he get back into All-NBA conversations and lead the 76ers to more glory? Let's dissect it!
Breaking down Tyrese Maxey's 2026-27 NBA Stat Projections with the 76ers
Tyrese Maxey will remain the primary ball-handler and offensive catalyst for Coach Nick Nurse's offense; that's certain. That is why Basketball-Reference projections posit that he will still produce at the same level in 2026-27, even with the 76ers' wealth of talent, including Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, and V.J. Edgecombe.
Maxey's Per 36 Minutes Projections are as follows:
PTS FGA FG% 3P% FT% AST TRB STL BLK TOV
26.0 19.9 0.459 0.364 0.886 6.1 3.8 1.6 0.60 2.2
Obviously, this data is not the most comparative and not enough to decide whether the 76ers can make it back to the All-NBA 3rd Team. So, there is a need to convert Maxey's Per 36 Basketball-Reference projections, plot them, and compare them to his averages from previous seasons alongside his total career numbers. It's exactly what the charts below show. (Note: the graphs assume that the Minutes Per Game stay the same and thepoint prior to the red-line projection is the career-average number)
A few observations can be derived from the projected numbers for Maxey. While he will have to work with more stars on the 76ers roster, there is not much of a hit in his scoring numbers. Yes, it does fall from 28.3 points to 27.4 points, but the -0.9 difference in scoring output means that he will likely still be a needed scoring machine in Coach Nick Nurse's offense. This is also reflected in his projected shots dropping from 21.4 FGA to 21.0 FGA.
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Defensively, the 76ers match up well against other squads in the NBA even if Maxey is forced as the point-of-attack defender. Maxey's projected 1.7 steals per game, well above his career average of 1.1 SPG, comes from his ability to stuff passing lanes during cuts, navigate screens without losing his man, and even flat-out snatch the ball mid-dribble.
The worry about Maxey
Every single star guard in the NBA needs to have a lethal three-pointer to help their coaches' offensive schemes. Why is this so important? It's largely because having a highly efficient shot from downtown creates a threat for a pull-up after screens, makes opponents bite on fakes to allow easy passes or cuts, and just creates a split-second Sophie's Choice that defenses will have to collapse under. Tyrese Maxey poses that problem to opposing defenses, but not to a greater degree than other combo guards in the NBA.
The 76ers star has a career three-point percentage of 37.7%. This is just 1.7% above the 2025-26 NBA three-point average that is valued at 36%. When Maxey's projected 36.4% three-point percentage for the upcoming season is plugged in, he is expected to underperform. He will also be barely above the average player in terms of his outside shot.
0.4%, that's the margin that separates the 76ers star guard from the mean if the projections hold. Maxey seemed to have found the solution for his three-point efficiency in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, but a huge backslide is affecting him. It's still not clear whether a change in shot mechanics or a rapid increase in scoring volume is the cause.
Bright side for 76ers fans
Evenly distributing the scoring load is usually key to managing egos and rotations on super teams. Coach Nick Nurse and the 76ers are lucky that Maxey will be running their offense alongside LeBron James. As a result, the 76ers star guard is expected to be a good facilitator. In fact, his projections suggest his assist numbers will not be as affected, despite the 76ers having multiple capable ball-handlers.
Maxey just experienced a career-high 6.6 assists per game average throughout the 76ers' 2025-26 NBA regular season campaign. His numbers will not change much heading into the new season. A small backslide to 6.4 assists per game is expected, but these are still great numbers for a floor general. This means everyone from Joel Embiid, LeBron James, V.J. Edgecombe, Dean Wade, and Jaylen Brown gets fed by their dime-dropper.
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Obviously, these projections assume minutes per game stay constant. These numbers can change drastically based on the 76ers' decisions and Coach Nurse. If all of these do come to life in the 2026-27 NBA season, the 76ers are going to be title contenders, with Maxey at least being part of the All-NBA Third Team. He can also certainly be the central superstar that the 76ers need to compete for more Larry O'Brien trophies in the coming years.
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