76ERS TYRESE MAXEY SCORES NBA'S MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey has turned into one of the smoothest scorers in the NBA, and on Tuesday night, he scored his first NBA honor: Maxey was named the NBA's Most Improved Player, edging out Chicago Bulls guard Coby White and Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun.

Maxey stepped up his game during Joel Embiid's absence earlier in the year and became the team's go-to scorer and leader. He improved his overall scoring by nearly 6 points and nearly doubled his per-game assists over the previous year.

INSIDE THE VOTES
Maxey received 51 first-place votes, 18 second-place votes, and ten third-place votes, appearing on 79 total ballots and accumulating 319 points.

White, on the other hand, was featured on more total ballots, 91 in total. However, he garnered 32 first-place votes, 43 second-place votes, and 16 third-place votes, resulting in a total of 305 points.

A STANDOUT SEASON FOR MAXEY
Maxey, 23, had a standout season with the Sixers, achieving career highs in points (25.9), rebounds (3.7), assists (6.2), steals (1.0), and 3-pointers made (212). This season also marked his first All-Star appearance as he successfully transitioned into a full-time point guard role following James Harden's trade to the LA Clippers.

WHAT DID TYRESE HAVE TO SAY:
"I have had to take different steps," Maxey said during an interview with TNT before the Minnesota Timberwolves played the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their first-round series Tuesday night, when he was presented with the award. "In the offseason I didn't know what the situation was going to be with James, so my thing was I have to work on pick-and-roll every day, working on passing, working on reads ... Those little things excite me the most, because I don't think I couldn't have made the plays I'm making this year in recent years.

"I just want to be the best possible version of myself."

"It feels great," Maxey said of winning the award. "Somebody like myself who prides myself on putting in a lot of work and outworking people and finding ways to get one percent better every time I get in the gym, it feels good for that to come to light, honestly."