No matter how much some fans are mired in nostalgia: the NBA is changing. Unlike Iverson changing the way players handle the ball, or Curry forever altering the distance of the jump shot, basketball is changing in unexpected ways. For the better part of the past 2 decades, the NBA has revolved around the same general stars: Lebron, Durant, Harden, and Curry. What’s gonna happen when all of our favorite stars retire? The NBA without Lebron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden & Steph Curry and all of the other older stars will never feel the same.
Right now, the league is between eras. This makes for some interesting basketball with young talent around the league trying to make a name for the new era. The term “generational” is thrown around like a baseball. 
Every year there is a player who is expected to be the next dominant figure. What happens when two once in a lifetime unicorns enter the league at the same time, with more hype than any prospects in the last decade? While all eyes are on Spurs’ Wembanyama and Mavericks’ Flagg, it has been the hungry stars with something to prove making basketball entertaining. The process itself might be over, and there are no championship rings to show for it, but the result of the process is here. A new team has arrived in Philadelphia.
Rather than relying on older big-name veterans, the Sixers are trusting a young, explosive core with more upside than most teams. With that being said, the team’s success relies on Tyrese Maxey right now. He leads the league in points per game, averaging just under 34. He also has the third most three-pointers on the most minutes per game in the NBA to start the season. His 8.5 assists per night is the 7th highest in the league. His 65% shooting inside the restricted area is mind-boggling as he shoots more efficiently from inside the paint than some 7 footers. This is not new to 76ers fans. Maxey has been a cold blooded killer ever since 2023 when the Sixers swept the Raptors. His ability and skill first presented to the world two seasons ago in the Garden has already been forgotten by many.
Icing a hostile MSG crowd in a win or go home setting was only the beginning of Maxey’s fourth quarter domination. He ranks 2nd in 4th quarter points this season with 9.4. He also averages a pair of rebounds and assists while shooting 45% from the field in crunch time. He has been torching opposing guards-specifically off the high ball screen to start the season. Maxey has the tools to be a superstar. The fastest player on the court with the ability to run by any player on the court at any given moment. Coach Nick Nurse likes to set Maxey up working downhill off a screen, where his finishing always leaves fans curious as to how a 6’2 200 pound guard is thriving in a league built for bigger players. 
Maxey’s ability to constantly step on the court as an undersized guard, yet take the game over with his speed and athleticism is something that could change the game. Unlike the undeveloped young talent who is supposed to take the NBA over, Maxey has run the league to start the year as an underdog who already has the label of a star. He is merely labeled ‘just a star.’ He never does anything flashy, or gets too involved in the media, the guy just loves to hoop. A star player should not be a diva, they should be the humble glue-guy to a team. Maxey is exactly that. By the end of the 2025-26 season he will be more than just a star to Philadelphia, he will be a top 3 point guard and in the MVP conversation.
