Shaquille O’Neal says he feels sorry for Tyrese Maxey after LeBron James joins 76ers

The last time LeBron James played primarily as a point guard, the Los Angeles Lakers won NBA championship No. 17.

The 41-year-old recently stunned the NBA when he penned a bargain two-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.

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James had free reign of all 29 other teams in the NBA when he opted to enter free agency for the last time of his stellar 23-year career.

But he ultimately decided to return back to the Eastern Conference and join former MVP Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and newly-acquired Jaylen Brown in pursuit of the Sixers’ first championship since 1983.

James received a plethora of criticism for joining the Sixers, with returns to the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers also appearing to be high up on the list of options, whilst teaming up with Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors was also a legitimate possibility.

Some argued he was ring chasing, but others, including Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, argued that he was ring creating, with the Sixers currently on a 44-year drought.

“I don’t like y’all calling my man a ring chaser… See, it’s funny to me that people that don’t have rings are saying, ‘Oh, he’s ring-chasing.’ No… He’s chasing the chance to continue to be great, to continue to add legacy to his book,” O’Neal said on Monday’s episode of The Stephen A. Smith show.

“Listen, he knows. Well, he doesn’t really know yet, but you know, and I know when this thing is over, it’s over. You can’t come back. Once you retire, once your body says, ‘I can’t go any more.’ It’s over. This guy feels he has two, three years left. Why not try to get another championship?”

“I did it, I did it with Boston after I won three in a row and then won one in Miami. Hey, towards the end of my career, let me go play with Paul [Pierce] and KG [Kevin Garnett] and, you know, be like the, you know, fourth guy and rebound and set picks and, you know, see if I can win one. And that’s what he’s doing.”

O’Neal ‘anxious’ for Maxey after James’ arrival

But O’Neal, who won four rings in his career, three with the Lakers and one with the Heat, is concerned about the possible ramifications of James’ move to Philadelphia on the development of Maxey.

This comes amid reports that suggests that James is set to suit up as a point guard for the team, much like he did in Los Angeles during their title-winning campaign in 2020.

“I’m anxious to see how this team is going to work. The person I feel sorry for is Tyrese Maxey,” O’Neal continued. “And let me tell you why.

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“He came in as a regular guy. Joel Embiid was hurt most of the year. Tyrese rose like, ‘Hey, I’m the star. This is my team.”

“Now you bring Jaylen Brown in. Is he gonna take a step back? And not only that, you bring LeBron in. Is he going to take another step back? Now Joel comes in shape, and he wants to play. He’s going to have to revert to just being a regular guy”

“And will that affect him? Because he was starting to make a name for himself. I think he made the All-Star team. He was a star.”

“And you know sometimes you know somebody or the one or two people on that team is going to have to defer. Defer to who? I don’t know whether to defer to Jaylen, defer to LeBron, defer to Embiid. I don’t know. But four big-name guys, everybody can’t get off every night.”

It is a legitimate concern.

Sixers have a usage rate issue

When the projected starting five of Maxey, V.J. Edgecombe, James, Brown and Embiid was analysed – this was, of course, before the acquisition of 3-and-D specialist Kentavious Caldwell-Pope earlier this week – the five combined for a usage rate of 132 percent.

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Something has to give there, and it is unclear who will be the ones who will have to sacrifice being on the ball, although it is unlikely to be James if he is operating from the one as the primary playmaker.

O’Neal is worried Maxey may be the one to see his development somewhat stunted, at least in the short-term, though he has often had to grapple with dealing with adversity on the court, often to great effect.

“I love where he came from to where he is now. All through hard work, the guy played. He made a name for himself. He made the All-Star team. He garnered other guys’ respect,” O’Neal said.

“Now with all these guys coming in, are you gonna take a step back or are you gonna continue, you know, to do what you do? That’s the question.

“Listen, he’s a great player. He’s an unselfish player, but you know, when you go from A and then you’re finally at Z, why do you have to go back to T or W or U or or J?

“So, you know, it’s going to be interesting because if you look at this team on paper, if you look at this team on paper, it’s a fabulous team. Maxey, Edgecombe, LeBron, Brown, and Embiid.” 

That’s an issue for head coach Nick Nurse to deal with.