Tyrese Maxey (right thumb contusion) won’t return vs. Magic

Tyrese Maxey left Friday’s preseason game early with a right thumb contusion, but his absence is reportedly a precaution.

Well, this is not the way the Sixers wanted to close the preseason.

Tyrese Maxey left the team’s final preseason game against the Magic early Friday and will not return because of a right thumb contusion. For what it’s worth, Kyle Neubeck of PHLY is reporting that Maxey is sitting as a precaution.

It’s hard to tell when exactly the injury took place. Maxey fouled Orlando forward Paolo Banchero and both players went to the floor. Maxey seemed fine after the fall, laughing and helping Banchero up. He appeared to start favoring the hand after he brought the ball up on the ensuing possession.

Joel Embiid missed the entire preseason as the team looks to carefully manage his surgically repaired left knee. Paul George suffered a bone bruise after hyperextending his left knee last week in Atlanta. We won’t know about the status of either star for next week’s season opener on Wednesday vs. the Milwaukee Bucks until Monday at the earliest.

It’s fair to wonder if Maxey should’ve even played in this one. With both Embiid and George out, Maxey is the one player you absolutely could not afford to get hurt ahead of opening night. The dynamic guard also looked plenty ready for the regular season, having already participated in four preseason games. It’s a flukey injury, but it could’ve been avoided altogether by putting your best remaining player on ice.

So, now we await for further updates on Maxey while we wait to get a clearer picture of George’s timeline and where Embiid is with his playing status.

Your Philadelphia 76ers, ladies and gentlemen.