2024 NBA All-Star and Philadelphia 76ers point guard Tyrese Maxey is being shut down for the remainder of the season as he nurses an injured finger tendon, his agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN. Maxey, who has been out since March 4th, attempted to rehab the injury but is still dealing with some pain, Paul added.
“Sources tell me Tyrese Maxey is expected to be ruled out for the remainder of the season with a finger tendon injury,” said ESPN’s Shams Charania. “Of course, with just six games left in the season, it was somewhat unlikely we’d see him play again… The Sixers actually pushed for Maxey to come back at some point this season, but he just is not healthy. He’s still having discomfort, and he needs treatment in that finger.”
The Sixers’ three All-Stars – Joel Embiid, Paul George and Maxey – all ultimately ruled out for the 2024-25 season. Maxey averaged a career-high 26.3 points in 52 games while leading the league at 37.7 minutes a night. https://t.co/dJS8oB3PNN
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 3, 2025
Maxey, who is coming off a 2023-24 campaign in which he was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player, had been averaging a career-high 26.3 points per game this season. On top of that, he has averaged 3.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.8 steals in 52 games this year.
Maxey is the third high-profile member of the 76ers to be shut down for the season due to injury. On February 28th, Philly ruled out former MVP center Joel Embiid for the rest of the year. Then, on March 17th, 11-time All-Star Paul George was shut down due to knee and adductor injuries.
The 76ers are in full-on tank mode
When it was announced yesterday that Joel Embiid would be undergoing his second left knee operation in 14 months, I came down harshly on the seven-time All-Star. I think my frustration with the 31-year-old center and his availability clouded my understanding of what the 76ers are trying to do: tank for a better draft pick.
Philly only has six remaining regular-season games and currently holds the projected fifth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Hypothetically speaking, though, there’s a scenario in which they end up tied for the second-worst record in the NBA, which means they would have a 14% chance to land the number-one overall pick and draft Duke freshman Cooper Flagg.
The following would need to happen for the 76ers to land top-three draft lottery odds:
- Philadelphia would need to lose its last six regular-season games, which is possible considering they’re on a nine-game losing streak.
- The New Orleans Pelicans would need to win three of their last six games. I am not as confident in this happening because they face the playoff-hungry Milwaukee Bucks twice as well as the Los Angeles Lakers, who are vying for the second seed in the Western Conference. But this is not out of the realm of possibility.
- The Charlotte Hornets need to win five of their final six games, a highly unlikely possibility since they face the Boston Celtics twice during that stretch.
- The Washington Wizards need to win all six of their remaining regular-season games. I can almost guarantee this will not happen since this franchise has 32 total wins in its last 158 games.
This was legit the last time I had actual faith in Sixers basketball pic.twitter.com/cRoVXwTTKu
— Aidan LaPorta (@AidanLaPorta69) April 3, 2025
I certainly think the 76ers will lose their final six games. I could also see the New Orleans Pelicans winning three games since they’ll face the Brooklyn Nets, who have already been eliminated from playoff contention, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have already secured the best record in the West and have nothing to play for. Should both of those things happen, then the 76ers will finish the season with the fourth-worst record in the league, meaning they’ll have a 12.5% chance to win the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery.
A team with the fourth-worst record in the NBA rarely ends up winning the Draft Lottery, but crazier things have happened. And even if they don’t win the Draft Lottery, they could still potentially end up with the second, third, or fourth overall pick, which is incredibly valuable since they can use it in a trade or to draft an elite young player.
I am not saying that the Philadelphia 76ers have handled the 2024-25 season well. But, this team’s outlook somehow looks better today than it did yesterday.
