Saturday in Philadelphia, Tyrese Maxey kicked off his slate of three free basketball camps for youth in one of his “three homes.”
With the first camp in Philadelphia complete, Maxey will host his second camp on Aug. 13 in Dallas, and the final camp on Aug. 20 in Lexington.
Following Saturday’s festivities, the now-third year Sixer caught up with Sixers.com…
“The main reason [I wanted to do these camps] was just to help out kids, and give back to the community. I call Lexington, Philadelphia, and Dallas my three homes. So to be able to give back to my three homes, and spread joy across the country with the kids, that makes me happy as well.”
Maxey remembers playing in LaMarcus Aldridge’s camp as a kid, and now has faced Aldridge as an NBA opponent. How would Maxey feel if one of his campers someday faced him in the NBA?
“That’s crazy - It just makes me sound like I’m going to be old! But I’ll be blessed to be there if I am. That means I had a long and healthy career. I can’t do anything but thank God for this opportunity that I have, and this platform I have to give back to everybody. I’m just blessed to be here.”
Accessibility was also a priority for Maxey, making sure all three of his camps would be free of charge:
“It was all about giving back to the kids, giving back to the community. I wasn’t, sometimes, able to afford some camps, and my Mom and Dad wanted to. So to be able to come to a camp of an NBA player, I feel like that’s pretty cool. I’m not cool, but I just hope I can spread a little joy with the kids, and everything will be ok.”
As for the weeks ahead, Maxey plans to continue his early morning workouts, while recharging with his family:
“I’m excited to go home for a little bit, hang out with the fam. Then I get to go back to Lexington. I moved into my new house, my dog has a lot of space to run around. I’m just happy, I’m just blessed. I’m ready for the next opportunity I have for next season, and I can’t wait to get out here with my teammates.”
Upon the conclusion of his camps, Maxey will return to his new home in Philadelphia - a city with which he’s already developed a deep connection:
“I feel like I relate to everybody in the city. The fans that come to the games, they work, and spend their hard-earned money to be able to attend these games. I feel like I worked extremely hard to be able to get to where I am. Nothing was given to me, everything was earned. So I really understand where they’re coming from.”