Philadelphia 76ers rookie Tyrese Maxey has improved significantly through his first season in the NBA. It’s impressive just how many areas he’s grown in, such as trading some tricky floaters for more finishes at the rim, growing more comfortable from three-point range, and generating more free throw attempts (I recently wrote about all of this and more here).
Another area of development for Maxey has been his defense. Of course, he’ll still have ups and downs like any rookie. But he’s been sharpening up his off-ball positioning, applying some good pressure on the ball with his energy and lateral quickness, and increasing his playmaking with smart digs at the ball for steals and even some rearview blocks.