After taking home the 2024 Most Improved Player of the Year award, Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey is still adding to his trophy collection. The 23-year-old took home this year’s NBA Sportsmanship Award as well. Maxey is the first Sixer to win the award since Eric Snow did in 2000.
Presented annually since the 1995-96 season, the NBA Sportsmanship Award honors a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.
Each NBA team nominated one of its players for the 2023-24 NBA Sportsmanship Award. From the list of 30 team nominees, a panel… https://t.co/BMOSZw80NL
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 16, 2024
According to the full voting results, Maxey won the award relatively comfortably. Maxey received 91 first-place votes. Miami Heat forward Kevin Love, who finished second in voting, received 42 first-place votes. Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes, and San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones rounded out the rest of the top six.
2024 NBA Sportsmanship Award Winner Announced
Tyrese Maxey Enjoyed a Fantastic 2023-24 season
Although the 76ers lost in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, Maxey enjoyed the most successful season of his career thus far. In addition to his two end-of-season awards, Maxey became a first-time NBA All-Star this season. On the year, he averaged 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. All these numbers are career highs for Maxey. Additionally, he shot 45% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc. In the playoffs, Maxey took it to another level. In six games against the New York Knicks, the Kentucky alum averaged 29.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game. This includes a masterful 46-point, nine-assist performance in Game 5. In the game, Maxey played 52 minutes and shot 17-for-30 from the field, including 7-for-12 from beyond the arc.
Teammate Joel Embiid recently spoke about Maxey’s season, saying he has “gotten so much better.”
“Tyrese has gotten so much better, and I think there’s even another step that he can take. Some of the guys in the locker room, they’ve gotten better. Every single year, I’ve gotten better, so I’m excited to keep working on my game and myself, keep getting better, but when it comes to guys around, I like our group of guys.”
Tyrese Maxey’s parents surprised him with the Joe Dumars Trophy as winner of the 2023-24 NBA Sportsmanship Award! 🫶 pic.twitter.com/74psGFkUFY
— NBA (@NBA) May 16, 2024
The Last Word on Tyrese Maxey
Maxey has only played four seasons in the league and is trending as a potential superstar. After the best season of his career, it will be interesting to see what is next in store for him. One possible milestone? MVP conversations. Recently, Embiid, who won the MVP award in 2023, said he believes Maxey could enter the MVP discussion in his career.
“You’ve got a young superstar coming in and face of the franchise for his whole career in Philly.” “He has a chance to do something special next year again. I hope he becomes All-NBA this year. I think he can be in stuff like MVP conversations.”
