The 76ers immediately looked like a contender, and they still have another level to reach

The inaugural possession of the Philadelphia 76ers’ season opener against the New York Knicks, a 106-100 Sixers win to spoil some of New York’s banner-raising delight, helped convey just how different life may be for each of Philadelphia’s four All-Stars this year, particularly its point guard, Tyrese Maxey.

After shuffling up the floor, Maxey delivered the ball to his backcourt mate, VJ Edgecombe, and veered into a bludgeoning back-screen as LeBron James took the baton and initiated the action himself. With the entirety of Philadelphia’s star-laden starting five in transit, New York could not properly traverse the commotion. Worried about James motoring downhill, OG Anunoby was tardy switching onto Maxey, who rainbowed home the catch-and-shoot triple for three of his game-high 28 points.

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Tuesday night, Maxey hoisted five catch-and-shoot threes to compose 26.3% of his total field goals. Last season, he averaged just 3.4 per game to compose 15.9% of his total field goals, per NBA.com. Although Maxey netted only one of these attempts — he made 41.8% of them a year ago — his quality of looks throughout the contest was significantly better than the past three seasons and signaled a splendid scoring campaign ahead.

With James and Jaylen Brown now flanking Maxey, Edgecombe and Joel Embiid, the Sixers are swimming in the deep end of star power, scoring outlets and championship expectations. They are all eyeing a deep playoff run that culminates in a title. Step one of their journey began Tuesday with an impressive victory inside the reigning champs’ palace.

There’s plenty to glean from that performance, most of it positive, as should be the case after defeating a team as daunting and as healthy as the Knicks. So, what did game one teach us about the Sixers? Where do they currently stand? Where can they go? And what hurdles might they need to overcome along the way?

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The stage is set for Tyrese Maxey to be his best self

Maxey’s uptick in spoonfed threes underscored how much easier and reshaped his scoring load should be this season. While he’s a tremendous player and offensive cog,…

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Publish date : 2026-10-22 15:09:00

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