When it comes to sharing his knowledge and his time with the youth, Tyrese Maxey is in a class by himself.
SINGAPORE – Campers in the recently concluded Basketball Without Borders Asia 2025 got the thrill of their lives for four days with the Philadelphia 76ers’ All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey acting as one of the camp’s coaches.
Maxey is known in NBA circles as one of the most hardworking players when it comes to charity work. He has even set up his own non-profit organization, The Tyrese Maxey Foundation, based in Garland, Texas that is “founded on faith-based values and exists in order to strengthen the family and the community through our works, example and investment.”
Thus it was little surprise that he agreed to travel all the way to Singapore to coach young Asian players. The ever-smiling Maxey was actively involved with both the boys’ and girls’ camps, patiently teaching the youngsters the basics as well as regularly giving words of encouragement.
“I think the biggest thing for me was to come out here and give all the knowledge that I could to everybody,” he said. “I feel like they were very receptive. They understood where I was coming from. It was really fun. It’s really fun to be out here and see these guys and these girls really go out here and compete and show their skills.”
After the camp concluded, Maxey gave his honest assessment on what he saw over those four days.
“The biggest strength is their skill level and their willingness to play with each other,” he said. “They play basketball the right way. That’s a great start. I think the biggest thing is just working on the shooting and certain things. Just being able to know how to play the game at a better pace.”
Participating in BWB has always been on Maxey’s radar, especially since his most famous teammate, Joel Embiid, was himself discovered at a BWB camp in Africa several years ago. Embiid, Maxey said, has always talked about his time at BWB.
“Yeah, he definitely told me,” Maxey said of Embiid. “He talks about it a lot. I think the biggest thing is that we’re going to both probably come over and try to go to Africa soon.
“You can tell why this is a really good camp and a really good organization because they’re doing things the right way. They are teaching guys and girls how to play basketball and I’m very appreciative of that.”
Maxey also sees Asian players becoming more comfortable now in the NBA.
“I definitely can see the growth. A lot of different players. They play the right way, like I said, and they compete really hard. Every (Asian) guy is a high-level competitor. Rui Hachimura right now with the Lakers, he takes on a lot of defensive match-ups. He scores the ball well and he just plays the game at a high level. I think the game is growing. It’s growing everywhere and that’s amazing to see.”
Coincidentally, Maxey, a huge fan of Marvel Comics, revealed that one of his favorite Marvel characters was the martial artist Shang-Chi.
“My favorite two Marvel characters are probably Spider-Man and ironically being in Asia right now, Shang-Chi. It’s kind of funny. I saw him (Simu Liu) at a game and I was totally fanboying out.
“My girlfriend was like, ‘Dude, you gotta chill.’ I was like, man, I love this character. Those are probably my two favorites. My favorite movie is probably the original Avengers. I like Kung Fu.”
Shai, Tyrese and the NBA Finals
(Note: At the time this interview was conducted, Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers had yet to be played.)
While Tyrese Maxey has yet to reach the NBA Finals, he thinks the two teams and their two superstars, Shai Gilgeous Alexander for the Thunder and Tyrese Haliburton for the Pacers, have gifted the public with a topnotch basketball.
“I think that’s every player’s dream. Every point guard’s dream is to lead their team to a championship and to the finals. I can’t wait to be a part of that.
“I feel like the playoffs this year have been amazing. Honestly, second to none. This final series has been amazing for basketball. I think OKC and Indiana have really shown the world a different way of basketball, a different way of how things can go.
“A lot of different players that can do a lot of different things. I read a stat or I heard a stat about Indiana. They have like seven or eight players who have had 15 or more in the playoffs. That’s amazing.
“That means any given night somebody can go off and somebody can score a ball and somebody can impact the game. I feel like that’s the way the game is going and it’s going to be great. The teams that are going to go out there and try to find depth and try to be very successful.”
Maxey was also blown away by the performance of SGA, the regular season MVP and eventual Finals MVP.
“He’s amazing. He’s been playing the best basketball that a lot of players have played in a long time. The way he plays the game, the way he’s involved, I’m just glad to know him. I’m glad to be a friend of his. I’m glad to be a fan of his game and get to watch him play again.”
Banner Images from the NBA.