The Sixers are creating plenty of news on their own, but let’s take a look around the rest of the NBA.
In route to picking up the Sixers’ first win of the season this past Sunday, Tyrese Maxey dropped 45 points along with four assists and four rebounds to secure the overtime win against the Indiana Pacers. That made him the player with the highest scoring game of this young season.
That hardly lasted 24 hours though, as Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic torched the very same Pacers, going for 50 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. He was absurdly efficient doing so, shooting 15-of-22 from the floor. Anyone with Orlando Magic stock has to feel good about their 3-1 start and how their young core in Banchero and Franz Wagner have looked.
Banchero will likely be a frontrunner for the upcoming Eastern conference player of the week award, one that went to Jayson Tatum. Anthony Davis took him the award for the West, with both players driving their teams to 3-0 starts (though the Lakers have now dropped one.) They averaged 33 and 34 points per game this week, respectively.
Los Angeles Lakers forward-center Anthony Davis and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for Week 1 of the 2024-25 season (Oct. 22-27). pic.twitter.com/lNHMvyW0ni
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 28, 2024
Maxey was a finalist for the award despite his early efficiency struggles — after all he is averaging 31 points per game. Other Eastern Conference finalists were LaMelo Ball, Jarrett Allen, Franz Wagner and Trae Young.
If there’s another thing the Sixers can feel good about, they’re not the only team under investigation. Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes broke the story last week that a former Clippers team doctor is suing the team for wrongful termination and unsafe medical practices on Kawhi Leonard. The suit also claims the Clippers tampered for Leonard years in advance, going back to his falling out with the San Antonio Spurs.
The full details can be read on Haynes’ X page and they are wild.
Lawsuit filed today against Clippers by Kawhi Leonard’s personal trainer that includes allegations of tampering years prior to signing the star.
Thread: pic.twitter.com/Txwq35DGfh
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 24, 2024
It’s impossible to know how much of it is true from the outside looking in, but some of these details feel like they provide so much context for basically the Clippers’ last four endings to their seasons. It’s also just hard to read what Leonard has put his body through since signing with the Clippers in 2019.
If anything, it’s a good reminder that the Sixers are not the only circus in town.