Tyrese Maxey Likens LeBron James to a 'Big Brother,' Talks Process of Star Signing 76ers Contract

In August, Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe suggested that Tyrese Maxey knew all along that the team was going to land LeBron James.

While Maxey denied those claims, he did say on Tuesday that he views James as a friend and a brotherly figure.

"I'm not going to say I knew and just didn't tell anyone, but I had multiple conversations with LeBron," he told Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. "I work out with LeBron early in the morning, and that's just off of being cool with him. It's funny, he's like a big brother, like an OG to me, and for us to be teammates, it was funny because a kid asked me the other day, he looked at me and said, 'Are you and LeBron friends?' I thought about it. I leaned back and I said, 'You know, I guess we are friends. He's the old, old, old guy, but he's like one of my old friends.' It's funny because we are teammates now, co-workers, but it's kind of like a big brother situation. It's going to be very cool and interesting dynamic."

The Sixers had quite the offseason, adding James and Jaylen Brown to the core of Maxey, Edgecombe and Joel Embiid while bolstering the bench with the signings of Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the first-round selection of Labaron Philon Jr.

Excitement abounds in Philly, though there are questions about how the team's cast of stars will coexist.

"We haven't gotten on the court yet, so we'll see," Maxey told Azarly. "But as far as the chemistry off the court, guys are communicating, guys are having a good time doing it, guys are really pumping each other up, and guys are also willing to sacrifice. It's just what they've said. So when we step on the court, we have to kind of embody all those things that we've been talking about. Sacrificing, coming together as one, and going out there competing every single night. Those are the three things that we really have to focus on. It's going to be one day at a time. One day at a time and one step at a time. There's going to be some good days, there's going to be some bad days, but at the end of the day we always want to be stepping in the right direction to come playoff time."

The expectation is that James will act as the team's de facto point guard, which in turn will allow Maxey to operate off the ball more (a role he thrived in while playing next to James Harden). How the shots will be distributed with four heavy-usage players in the starting lineup (plus a burgeoning young star in Edgecombe who also needs touches) remains to be seen.

But the talent is unmistakable and excitement levels are high ahead of the team's Media Day on Monday.