Tyrese Maxey has now become the latest NBA star to dispute Stephen A. Smith’s reporting.
The ESPN personality Smith made a big claim on the air this week about the Philadelphia 76ers star Maxey. Smith was reacting on “First Take” to the 76ers’ epic comeback victory over James Harden and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Making note of the fact that Harden and Maxey used to be teammates on the 76ers, Smith claimed that Maxey went to then-head coach Doc Rivers’ house in 2023 and was nearly in tears over Harden’s lack of effort in the playoffs that year.
“Remember when they got bounced out in the postseason?” said Smith. “Remember when James Harden didn’t show up? Remember when Tyrese Maxey went to Doc Rivers’ crib damn-near crying because he was so damn frustrated [with] the absence of effort that took place [from Harden]?”
Maxey disputed those remarks in a post to his X page on Friday. “Here yall go,” wrote Maxey. “I’ve never even been to DOC house.”
Here yall go… I’ve never even been to DOC house
— Tyrese Maxey (@TyreseMaxey) October 23, 2026
For what it is worth, Maxey and Harden were teammates on the 76ers for two seasons from 2022-23. In the latter year, Philadelphia lost in the second round of the playoffs after blowing a 3-2 series lead to the Boston Celtics.
During that series, Harden was indeed criticized for seemingly quitting on his team. But as for Maxey supposedly showing up at his head coach’s house with a list of grievances against Harden, that much appears to be quite false.
