Earlier this week, Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey had plans to go to Cleveland, Ohio for one thing; that’s to play in the NBA Rising Stars Challenge.
On Thursday, the young guard found out that he had an additional task, though. As Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell recently suffered a setback, he was pulled from the NBA’s Clorox Clutch Challenge.
The NBA announced that Maxey would replace Mitchell in the challenge. Therefore, Maxey would join Toronto Raptors’ 2021 fourth-overall pick Scottie Barnes as his teammate in the Clutch Challenge.
The two would face off against Desmond Bane and Tyrese Haliburton, Josh Giddey and Evan Mobley, and lastly, Michael Foster Jr, and Jaden Hardy.
In the event, teams had to make shots from five locations on the court tied to iconic shots made by members of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in the NBA Playoffs. For Maxey and Barnes, two thriving young prospects in the NBA, the task was a lot more difficult than many expected it to be for them.
Scottie Barnes attempted the Magic Johnson shot first, which is an attempt from close range. He was the first to miss that shot. Maxey then followed with a corner three that didn’t fall. Barnes attempted the “Magic Shot” again and came up short.
When Maxey took a stab at it next, the Sixers guard who is typically automatic from that range as his floater is one of his best weapons on offense, the second-year guard couldn’t get it to fall either.
Fortunately, Maxey made up for that miss by knocking down a corner three after missing his first attempt. But Barnes killed the momentum when he missed the close-range shot once again. Maxey then followed up by missing a three and Barnes went on to miss his fourth-straight shot.
Once again, Maxey attempted to save the moment by taking the shot but he missed it again. Barnes did end up making a shot from further away, but Maxey kept the crowd laughing when he failed to make the easy layup once more. In total, Maxey and Barnes missed six shots from close up.
Maxey and Barnes might’ve been the laughing stock of the event, but the two young stars laughed off embarrassment and embraced the moment.
“It was funny, though, we made people laugh,” Maxey told Barnes after the event. “We may have got some followers. We gonna be on Shaqtin’ a Fool tomorrow.”
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.