The NBA All-Star reserves won’t be announced until later this week, but if one list is any guide, Tyrese Maxey is an outright lock.
The NBA released its list of the top-selling player jerseys (via nbastore.com) for the first half of the 2023-2024 season, and the Sixers guard is ranked ninth, ahead of, among others, two-time MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, and his own teammate and reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who ranks 12th.
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You could make an argument that some of the players ranked behind Maxey are established stars, and fans may have already purchased their jerseys prior to this season. At the same time, you can read this list almost like a current list of the most popular, up-and-coming players on NBA fans’ radar, mixed in by several all-time greats who continue to be must-see players, like #1 Stephen Curry, #3 LeBron James, #5 Giannis Antetokounmpo, and #8 Kevin Durant.
One fun fact that may only interest me: including Maxey, there are three players in the top ten who wear the number 0, along with #2 Jayson Tatum of the Celtics and Milwaukee star Damian Lillard.
In his fourth NBA season, Maxey is averaging 25.7 points per game, good enough for 15th in the league. He ranks 13th in assists per game (6.6) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.18). He is the only player in the NBA that ranks in the top 15 in all three categories.
The NBA will announce the All-Star reserves Thursday night. Expect Maxey to be among the names called.