Tyrese Maxey is one of the highly touted members of the Kentucky Wildcats freshman class. Kentucky ran through the SEC and started heating up just in time for the NCAA Tournament. Now that the season has ended, he is likely one of several departures from the Wildcats roster.
Tyrese Maxey 2020 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Maxey is a 6’3 guard from Texas who was ranked in the top ten as a high school recruit. He came off the bench early in his Kentucky career, but that changed quickly with his scoring explosion. Maxey averaged 14 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game this season. He was slightly inconsistent at times, but so are all freshmen.
Maxey played well enough to be named Second Team All-SEC and All-SEC freshman team. He clearly became one of the best players on the Wildcats roster, along with Nick Richards. He did enough to solidify his position as a legitimate NBA prospect.
Strengths
Maxey is an outstanding scorer. He is a superb athlete and can get to the rim with ease. He has a decent combination of finishes in the paint. While his shooting percentage isn’t great, his true shooting percentage is nearly 53 percent.
Maxey plays really well in open space and transition. Honestly, Kentucky did not play to the style that suits Maxey the best. John Calipari likes to slow his team down and try to limit turnovers, especially with young teams. In the NBA, Maxey will have a lot more space and will be able to run, using his athleticism.
No matter where Maxey falls, his athleticism and quickness are going to be the key to his success in the NBA. He is really shifty with the ball and hard to contain. The next step for him will be to use this to create scoring opportunities for teammates.
Weaknesses
One of the main weaknesses of Maxey is his shot selection. This is a problem for several young guards, so it is not too alarming. Maxey typically played with two bigs on the court with limited range, which clogged the lane and created difficult shot opportunities for him. That should improve with the natural spacing of the NBA game, but it will take some maturing for Maxey. As he develops, he should also become a more consistent shooter.
Maxey also struggles a bit defensively. He has some tools that can make him at least a consistent defender. He may be put on an island at times in his rookie season so he will have to adjust quickly.
Lastly, Maxey needs to be a better playmaker. He is too creative of an offensive player not to. Maxey can play either the one or the two-position, making him the definition of a combo guard. But, if he is just a one-dimensional scorer then he will be easy to contain in the league.
NBA Player Comparison
Early Lou Williams. Maxey is going to make his mark as a volume scorer off the bench. He compares nicely to Williams in terms of shiftiness and creativity. Obviously, Williams has developed to be a fantastic distributor, so that will be a good goal for Maxey.
NBA Draft Projection
Late lottery.
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