Tyrese Maxey and Trendon Watford: Philly’s New Dynamic Duo
Their journey started at the 2019 McDonald's All-American, where their friendship began. Though their friendship started with both players on opposite sides of a game, they will finally play on the same team. With Trendon Watford finally joining Tyrese Maxey on the 76ers, their close ties to each other could raise the other’s game to an all-star level, maybe to the level of the Minnesota Timberwolves duo Chauncey Billups and Kevin Garnett. For those that don’t know, Billups and Garnett were a part of a stacked 1995 McDonald’s All-American game with the Eastern roster featuring Vince Carter, Stephon Marbury, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and Antawn Jamison. As for the Western roster, it included Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Billups.
Although Billups did not play that game due to a shoulder injury, that didn’t stop a friendship from growing deeper between them. Billups joined the 2004 MVP in Minnesota for only two seasons, ranging from 2000-to-2002. During that time, Billups averaged close to 11 points and five assists per game. While it doesn’t immediately stand out as effective, it did give Billups the necessary experience to bring with him to Detroit. In Detroit, Billups finally won the elusive Larry O’Brien Trophy and was named Finals MVP after defeating the Lakers in 2004.
As for Garnett, he left Minnesota to join his former teammate, Paul Pierce, from the 1995 McDonald’s All-American, now in Boston. It was then that Garnett was able to win his first chip, which happened to be against the Lakers, again, in 2008. Separately, the two Hall of Famers were able to win in separate franchises, but fans shouldn’t forget that it all started in Minnesota. The dynamic duo of Billups and Garnett was short-lived, but worth the experience.
Now, fast forward to 2025, and Philly is housing two players who share a connection. Maxey and Watford's close ties to each other could make them an underrated dynamic duo on the court. While the real duo is Maxey and Joel Embiid, as those two are the best players on the team. Watford can bring a lot to the team and bring out the best in Maxey.
Watford already showed his skills in scoring and rebounding, especially against the Sixers squad last season. Case in point, Watford played the last six games of the regular season as a starter. During that span, he averaged close to 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists per game, while shooting on a 53% clip. Although he isn’t expected to grab boards like four-time rebounding leader Andre Drummond, he can still fill in the gaps that the team needed from last season. All eyes should be fixated on what Maxey and Watford do on the court for the season.
