One of the staple NBA training camp storylines is always offseason work and who did what to improve their game. You're going to be hearing a lot of variations of the tried and true "I'm in the best shape of my life" or "I plan on shooting more 3s this year" claims. Does anyone ever come up with anything original?
Yes. His name is Tyrese Maxey. He's already an All-Star point guard, and what he changed this offseason to better his game is as amusing as it is ridiculous.
"I think the biggest thing for me is I changed my hair and I can see now," Maxey told reporters Wednesday after acknowledging the lob chemistry he's starting to develop with new teammates and his emphasis on getting into the paint to create kick-out 3s. "I couldn't see before, so if I got in the paint, I was shooting it. But now the hair's not in my face so I can see."
Tyrese Maxey spent the summer trying to improve as a playmaker.
— PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers) October 2, 2024
"Honestly, the biggest thing for me was just making reads when I get into the paint. In the league, the shot quality right now you gotta be able to shoot 3s and make 3s, and I think we'll be able to do that."… pic.twitter.com/hIBoJChbvE
I can see now. These were actual words that came out of the mouth of an NBA point guard who is literally being paid hundreds to millions of dollars to do things like, you know, see. It's hard to argue with how well Maxey has been able to play without, apparently, the benefit of unencumbered vision. But to know he was, prior to this year, voluntarily hindering his ability to see the court and his teammates (which, last I checked, is a pretty major part of a point guard's job description) so that he could wear his hair in long braids that, if you're going to take him at his word, acted as effective curtains over his eyes, is pretty astonishing stuff.
I just can't believe this is a real thing. Maxey could seriously take his game, and specifically his playmaking, to another level this season because he changed his freaking haircut. Did the Sixers know he apparently didn't have any peripheral vision before? That he had to shoot when he got into the paint because he couldn't see anything or anyone around him? If so, they didn't make him cut his hair? They're paying him over two-hundred million dollars!
One can't help but recall the time Elfrid Payton literally blinded himself with his hair, and consequently threw up an airball on about an eight-foot shot.
Payton was an abysmal shooter over his eight-year career. Why he chose to make things even more difficult on himself by growing and styling his hair into some sort of infinity pool runoff is among the questions we'll likely never have answered on this earth, but again, it's not all jokes. I can't overstate this enough: These guys are being paid to perform at the highest level and they are deliberately decreasing their chances of doing so, like a golfer choosing to put a windmill in front of the hole before he putts.
Again, Maxey has been spectacular for the Sixers. He's a legit All-NBA level player who scored 25 PPG last season and made 43% of his 3s the years before that. Last year he more than doubled his previous career high with 6.5 assists per game. Just imagine how good he's going to be now that he can see.
