76ers’ Tyrese Maxey Makes ‘Sad’ Statement Over March Madness

March Madness is going on, and Philadelphia 76ers star guard Tyrese Maxey is admittedly feeling some type of way.

As Maxey’s former team at the University of Kentucky competes in the NCAA Tournament, he can’t help but think about the “what-if.”

Back when Maxey played for the Wildcats, he didn’t get a chance to compete in the tournament. With the COVID pandemic shutting down the sports world, Maxey would have to return for a sophomore season in order to get that experience.

But the young star guard was sold on going to the NBA after his freshman season. Still, the idea of missing March Madness as a player has an effect on Maxey.

Tyrese Maxey Makes A Statement On March Madness

via Tyrese Maxey on X: Every year during march madness I get sad I didn’t get to play in the tournament…😞

In 2019-2020, Maxey was a freshman prospect out of Texas. He started 28 out of 31 games at Kentucky, seeing the court for 34.5 minutes per game.

The young star guard shot 42.7% from the field and hit on 29.2% of his threes to average 14.0 points per game. He also came down with 4.3 rebounds and dished out 3.2 assists per game.

Maxey was expected to be a lottery pick heading into the 2020 NBA Draft. He slipped down the board on draft night, shocking many analysts who had him higher on their big boards.

When the Sixers got on the clock with the 21st pick, they selected Maxey.

As sad as Maxey is, he expressed that it all worked out in the end.

via Tyrese Maxey on X: Then I remember… I prolly woudn’t be a Sixer… so it worked out perfect! 😂

It All Worked Out for Tyrese Maxey

Seeing how Maxey’s NBA career has played out so far, many believe that the young guard would’ve driven his value up much higher in the NCAA Tournament in 2020, to the point where the Sixers wouldn’t have been in a position to select him.

Philadelphia’s front office is obviously thrilled with the idea that plenty of teams didn’t believe Maxey was worth a top 20 pick at the time.

Since joining the Sixers, Maxey quickly developed into a full-time starter by year two. In year three, he averaged over 20 points per game for the first time, and hasn’t stopped producing that way since.

In 2023-2024, Maxey was crowned the NBA’s Most Improved Player after he averaged 25.9 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game.

For the first time in his career, Maxey was crowned an NBA All-Star. He earned a long-term contract extension from the Sixers. He’ll get paid $204 million over five seasons.

While the 2024-2025 season was an off year for Maxey and the Sixers, he still scored at a career-high rate in 52 games before going down with a season-ending setback.

In 2025-2026, Maxey has appeared in 61 games. Shooting 46.1% from the field, Maxey is averaging 29.0 points per game. He is also dishing out 6.7 assists per game, along with coming down with 4.1 rebounds per game.

Not having the March Madness experience is understandably sad. Yet, it still worked out just fine for the former Kentucky star.

Justin Grasso Justin Grasso is an NBA reporter, covering trending league news, transactions, injuries, and player developments. He is a credentialed journalist with nearly a decade of insider access. More about Justin Grasso