From Process Assets to Bubble Miracles: The Complex Chain of Events That Brought Tyrese Maxey to Philadelphia
The emergence of Tyrese Maxey as a franchise cornerstone for the Philadelphia 76ers is often framed as a scouting triumph, but a deeper forensic analysis of the transaction reveals a precarious chain of events involving Sam Hinkie’s asset accumulation, a global pandemic, and a statistically improbable shot inside the NBA Bubble. While the result is a star guard, the journey to the 21st pick in the 2020 NBA Draft suggests that Philadelphia’s current fortune was far from a guaranteed outcome.
To understand how Maxey landed in Philadelphia, one must look past draft night and return to the aggressive asset hoarding of the “Process” era. The pick used to select Maxey—a 2020 first-rounder from the Oklahoma City Thunder—was not originally Philadelphia’s. It was the residue of the 2016 trade that sent Jerami Grant to OKC. However, the protections on that pick created a scenario where the Sixers were perilously close to losing it entirely. The pick was top-20 protected, meaning if the Thunder had finished with a worse record, they would have kept the selection, and Philadelphia would have received two second-round picks instead—a disastrous exchange of value.
This is where the “Deep Search” into the timeline reveals the pivotal role of the NBA Bubble in Orlando. In August 2020, during the seeding games, former 76ers center Mike Muscala—playing for OKC—hit a game-winning 3-pointer against the Miami Heat. This single shot altered the standings enough to push the Thunder’s pick out of the top 20 and into the 21st slot, causing it to convey to Philadelphia. Without that specific shot in a fan-less arena during a pandemic, Tyrese Maxey likely never wears a Sixers uniform.
Background context on the 2020 Draft further illuminates why Maxey was available at pick 21. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, depriving prospects of the primary stage to improve their draft stock. Maxey, a Kentucky guard, fell victim to a scouting bias that has historically plagued evaluations of John Calipari’s backcourt players. Much like Devin Booker and Tyler Herro before him, Maxey’s role at Kentucky was constrained, hiding his elite scoring upside. Teams were apprehensive about his 29% three-point shooting in college, failing to account for the spacing issues of the college game compared to the NBA.
However, objections must be raised against the narrative that this was a calculated masterclass by the Sixers’ front office. To frame the acquisition of Maxey as the vindication of “The Process” is to ignore the sheer volatility of the situation. Critics argue that relying on a protected pick that hinged on a Mike Muscala buzzer-beater represents a failure of strategy rather than a triumph of planning. Furthermore, reports from the 2020 draft night suggest the Sixers were exploring trades involving the pick up until the final moments. The decision to draft Maxey was as much a result of other teams’ failures—specifically the 20 teams that passed on him due to undersized guard concerns—as it was Philadelphia’s intent.
Ultimately, the acquisition of Tyrese Maxey serves as a case study in the intersection of preparation and luck. While Sam Hinkie provided the war chest of assets and the philosophy of taking multiple swings at the draft, it took a pandemic-shortened season and the specific mechanics of a trade protection clause to deliver the Sixers their current All-Star. The result validates the strategy of asset accumulation, even if the execution relied heavily on the bounces of the ball in an empty gym in Orlando.
