Tyrese Maxey spent the 2025-26 NBA season doing something most players never have to do: keeping a franchise alive with its two biggest stars routinely absent.
Joel Embiid and Paul George missed significant stretches, and Maxey responded by leading the league in minutes for Philadelphia, eventually powering the 76ers to a playoff berth. The experts at TipsGG have been tracking his MVP trajectory throughout the season, and the early numbers alone told a striking story. By Nov. 13, Maxey was averaging 32.1 points (46% FG, 44% 3PT, 88% FT, 4.0 3PM), 4.9 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.2 steals over 40.5 minutes a night.
The context matters. Philadelphia was still navigating post-James Harden identity shifts, rebuilding its offensive structure around Maxey as the undisputed first option. Consecutive 30-point nights and 40-minute outings early in the season made it clear this wasn’t a temporary hot streak.
Where Maxey Stood on the MVP Ladder
The Big Lead’s Jan. 17 MVP ladder placed Maxey eighth. The ladder acknowledged that his quickness and scoring ability had become integral to Philadelphia’s offensive identity that season, which is high praise but also a quiet admission that he wasn’t climbing toward the very top.
Then came the NBA.com Kia MVP Ladder refresh on Feb. 6, which put him inside the top 10 and grouped him with an elite clutch-scoring class. Six players in the NBA had surpassed 100 clutch points, and five of them were top-10 on the ladder: Maxey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Cade Cunningham and Anthony Edwards. Jamal Murray was the sixth.
Being in that company means something. Clutch points are not a vanity stat, and Maxey’s presence in that group confirmed he was producing when games were actually on the line.
The Gap Between Recognition and the Trophy
Recognition, though, is not the same as the award. The Feb. 27 NBA.com ladder made clear that the real MVP race had narrowed to two names: Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokić. The framing was direct: the remaining Jokić-versus-Gilgeous-Alexander matchups could decide the Kia MVP winner. Maxey was a legitimate presence in the conversation — not a fringe name — but the top was already spoken for.
ESPN’s 2026 awards ballot confirmed the final shape of that race. Tim Bontemps’ MVP order went Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Dončić, and Cade Cunningham. Despite Maxey missing out on that top five, it isn’t a condemnation of his season— it reflects the brutal depth of the NBA 2026 MVP field. Wembanyama in third, Dončić in fourth, Cunningham in fifth: that is a remarkably stacked group for anyone outside it to crack.
What the Numbers Couldn’t Overcome
Maxey had a great season, but the Sixers finished 45-37 and were in Play-In territory, not top-seed territory.
Winning tends to tip the scales for MVP candidates. It’s often the best players on the better teams that are considered for the award. Let’s take a look at ESPN’s top five finalists and their respective team records.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder went 64-18, best overall record)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets went 54-28, took third in the West)
- Victor Wembanyama (Spurs went 62-20, took second in the West)
- Luka Doncic (Lakers went 53-29, took fourth in the West)
- Cade Cunningham (Pistons went 60-22, were top seed in the East)
45 wins simply isn’t enough, especially in today’s NBA, even if you are one of the best players in the world.
The Case for a 2026-27 MVP Campaign
What Maxey built this season is a foundation, not a ceiling. He proved he can be the primary option on a playoff team, absorb an enormous minute load, and produce at an elite scoring level without collapsing under the weight. The 76ers made the playoffs and upset the No. 2 Boston Celtics despite their injury situation, which is the kind of team-outcome argument that gains traction with voters when it’s paired with dominant individual numbers.
The NBA MVP award has previously gone to players who dragged their teams forward under adverse circumstances. Maxey’s 2025-26 campaign fits that template more than his final ballot position suggests. He was eighth on a January ladder and top-10 in February, which means he was genuinely in the picture for months, not just a talking point.
Whether his name rises further in 2026-27 depends on Philadelphia’s success rate, his own continued development, and whether the field around him thins even slightly. Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokić, Wembanyama, and Dončić are all extraordinary. Maxey isn’t beating that group on reputation. He would need to build the argument game by game, the same way he built it this season: quietly and relentlessly.
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