LeBron may have joined the 76ers, but his own agent believes it's still Tyrese Maxey's team

The Big Blue Nation has become all too used to former Wildcats dominating on the NBA level. The John Calipari professional factory was one thing, but before (and even after) that overlong era, we've seen some of Kentucky's biggest names go on to become even bigger in the league. Tyrese Maxey is one of those names, no doubt, and his status is only growing.

Maxey, entering his seventh season in the NBA, has become the go-to leader for the Philadelphia 76ers. You'd think that may have changed when Philly signed arguably the greatest player of all time last week (yeah, I said it) in LeBron James, but according to James' own agent, that isn't the case.

Rich Paul, on his Game Over podcast with Max Kellerman, said that the 76ers still firmly belong to Maxey. "It's his team," Paul said, which subsequently sparked a viral post from Legion Hoops on X.

While the replies are filled with NBA watchers hoping that Paul's declaration doesn't cause a chemistry imbalance in Philadelphia's locker room, Kentucky fans can simply celebrate how cool it is that Maxey has hit such a level of leadership that he's calling the shots over LeBron James.

That would also suggest he's "the man" above Joel Embiid as well; how Embiid himself would feel about that sentiment, I'm not sure. But the numbers don't lie for Maxey.

Tyrese Maxey's Numbers Say it All

This past season as a Sixer, in a run that ended unceremoniously in a second-round sweep to the eventual champion New York Knicks, Maxey averaged nearly 30 points per game on 46.2% shooting from the field. He tacked on 4.1 boards and 6.6 assists per contest as well.

As Philly fought to rise to the top of the Eastern Conference, Maxey was making a legitimate case for being one of the best players in the league. VJ Edgecombe finding his way as a rookie and Embiid having played only 38 games in the regular season both lent themselves to Maxey's status as the team's top option. The top dog is a former Cat, if you will.

Now, with Embiid trending toward full health and James and Jaylen Brown both coming onto the scene to bolster the Sixers' (now favorable) title chances, it's undeniable to say that the franchise's general outlook has massively changed.

Yet, at the core of their gradual climb, the entire time, has been Maxey. It's fair that a lot of folks may have been shocked by Paul's remark at first, but when you take a closer look, I'm not sure a case can clearly be made for anyone else on the roster.

This is indeed Maxey's team, and the BBN will be pulling hard for him to lead his team to their first championship since 1983. With history on the line in Philadelphia, the 76ers faithful will be relying on one of Lexington's finest to get the job done.

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