Making the NBA was part of Tyrese Maxey’s dream.
A teenage Maxey once envisioned becoming a McDonald’s All-American, going to play for coach John Calipari in college, and ultimately getting drafted.
Check, check, and check.
Was being an NBA All-Star a goal? Did he ever have any doubts?
“I try not to have much doubt,” Maxey said. “Maybe second or third grade. That was a long time ago, right?
“Man, you always dream of [being in the NBA]. In sixth grade, I broke my finger in the first quarter of the middle school championship game. And I continued on and played with one hand, and was able to score like 45 points. I was like, maybe I could be really good at this. And now we’re here.”
Here was his reality on a freezing February weekend in Indianapolis.
Tyrese Maxey was a first-time NBA All-Star in 2024.
The 23-year-old from Garland, Texas embraced it all. The fanfare, the appearances, the whirlwind that is the weekend before a player even reaches the Sunday night game. It was an embrace rooted in his own experience.
"The All-Star Game came to Dallas, and it was snowing, just like it is now,” Maxey said Saturday night while recalling the 2010 event. “I got to go to some of the fan events [then], and I had one of those today. I was walking through and I was like ‘Man, – and I was stopping to try to sign as much as I could – this was me.’ I was one of those kids.
"I had an East All-Star Dwyane Wade jersey on, walking through there. I saw him yesterday and I was telling him about it. It's just amazing. It all comes full circle. I'm very happy to be here."
A record crowd of 108,713 watched Wade take home the MVP award that weekend.
Now 14 years later, Maxey is sitting beside another MVP – WNBA star A’ja Wilson – on an Indiana Convention Center stage. It’s early evening and Maxey’s fifth appearance of day one, a live edition of his ‘Maxey on the Mic’ podcast. He’s worried about respecting Wilson’s time, when she kindly stops him.
“This is big time,” Wilson states. “I get it, stay humble, but this is a huge moment for you and you have to embrace it. Take it in. These are huge moments. You’re an All-Star. They can never take this away from you.”
“They can’t,” Maxey agrees.
“You’re going to remember this snow in Indiana,” adds Wilson. “This blizzard. Always!”
Maxey and his patented smile entered Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, LeBron James sat at the podium in the next room ahead of his record 20th NBA All-Star appearance. In James’ first outing on Feb. 20, 2005 in Denver, he started alongside would-be MVP Allen Iverson.
“You still get that moment,” James, now 39, said. “You’re still having that feeling like ‘This is pretty cool.’ I still – at heart and deep inside – I’m still like that 18-year-old kid that came into this league from Akron, Ohio.”
James told Maxey he was proud of him.
“Every moment you can share the court with somebody like LeBron, you should cherish it,” Maxey said postgame. “I always say that about Joel [Embiid]. These moments right now – we have a lot of special talents in the NBA – you can’t take them for granted.”
If a second (or third) grade Maxey had any doubts about his future, he has answered them ever since. Showing the world, all the while.
In early October at 76ers Media Day, Maxey discussed his “LND” bracelet, still around his wrist at the All-Star podium.
Leave No Doubt.
“LND is something that my dad told me,” said Maxey. “He used to text it to me before every game at Kentucky. It means a lot to me. There's always doubt in other people's hearts. As a human being, you try not to worry about what other people think of you, but it's always in the back of your mind. For me, I go out there and leave no doubt.”
Tyrese Maxey is undeniable.
The once under-the-radar high school entrant now stars in holograms and billboards at NBA All-Star Weekend.
Maxey finished the 73rd NBA All-Star Game with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a win.
But being surrounded by family – and the league’s best – is what he says he’ll remember most about his debut.
That, and perhaps the snow.