At the end of the day, basketball is a piece of cake. It should be played with joy and happiness whenever someone steps onto the court and laces up their sneakers.

At the start of the 2024-25 season, Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey didn’t play with that joy. He seemed a little off, and that affected everything from his individual play to the team, as the Sixers got off to a miserable 3-14 start despite high expectations.

In the first 17 games of the season, 11 of which Maxey played, he averaged 25.7 points and shot just 41.3% from the floor and 31.8% from deep. Over the last 12 games, Maxey is averaging 26.3 points and his 3-point percentage has increased to 36% over that span. Coach Nick Nurse in particular sees his star guard happy again.