All-Star or not, it’s clear Tyrese Maxey has found his groove — no matter who is playing

Tyrese Maxey has sure looked like an All-Star lately. If he’s not named as a reserve Thursday, expect him to be motivated but keep playing with joy.

NBA All-Star reserves will be announced Thursday. Tyrese Maxey, having made his first appearance last season, will surely be a candidate.

What would it mean for the Sixers’ franchise cornerstone to be named an All-Star again?

“I’ll say this: I’m more happy about the way our team has been playing the past three weeks,” Maxey said Tuesday after his team won its third straight game. “We haven’t won every game of course, but it’s finally coming together. Guys are going out there and having fun, and guys are excited to come into the building and try to compete.”

These are the types of responses we’ve come to expect from Maxey. He’s proven to be a selfless leader, deflecting praise from himself and lifting up his teammates. After dropping 43 points on LeBron James and the Lakers Tuesday, Maxey chose to focus on how much fight his team has shown in a mostly miserable season.

But beneath that smile and team-first response is a competitor. Maxey has made it clear just how much he hates to lose. It’s naive to think a guy who nailed a cold-blooded logo three to send a playoff game to overtime at Madison Square Garden and was subsequently flipped off by Tracy Morgan wouldn’t feel a certain type of way about not being named an All-Star.

And he’s made a damn good case recently.

Maxey dropped 30 points in a victory over the Kings Wednesday, the Sixers’ fourth straight win. He’s scored at least 25 points in 12 straight games. After struggling mightily through the first eight games of the season, Maxey’s numbers over his last 31 games have been the best of his young career.

The only thing to detract from Maxey is the Sixers’ abysmal start. Even after ripping off four straight wins, the team stands at 18-27, a full game back of the Chicago Bulls for the final play-in spot. But the fact that they’re even in this position and haven’t totally bottomed out is because of Maxey.

Think about the adversity Maxey has dealt with this season. Of the 39 games he’s played this season, just 25 have been with All-Star teammate Paul George. Only 10 have been with Joel Embiid. Guys like Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry and Andre Drummond — players expected to play big roles, especially when George and Embiid sit — have struggled to stay healthy all season.

Maxey admitted Tuesday that as the injuries and losses piled up, he lost his way. The happiest guy in the gym was losing his joy.

“I think early in the year, I was kind of just … worried about what was going on,” Maxey said. “There was a lot going on, injuries and all that, and it just kind of sucks. Now, I just kind of have the mindset of whoever’s out here is out here. We’ve got to go play extremely hard and give ourselves a chance to win the game. I know that’s going to start with me and I’m OK with that. I’m up for the challenge.”

There does seem to be a noticeable trickle down effect.

Still only 24 and playing in just his fifth season, Maxey has already forged a large leadership role. It speaks in part to all the success he’s already had, but bigger than that, it speaks to the respect he has in the locker room and how he treats his teammates.

Ricky Council IV came to the Sixers as an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas last season. He quickly formed a bond with Maxey and looked to him as a leader — despite the two only being roughly a year apart in age.

Council said Wednesday that he thought it all got to Maxey because the young guard truly believed this could be the Sixers’ year.

“I know for him personally he really wants to win,” Council said, “and he really thought this could be the season where we make a huge run — and it’s still not too late — but just over the last couple games he’s taken over.”

The Sixers can see light at the end of the tunnel after about as miserable a start as a team with title hopes could imagine. Maxey appears well on the other side of his early-season struggles. He’s currently sixth in the NBA in scoring and third in steals. It might not seem like much, but considering where the Sixers’ season started, Maxey has his team in a reasonable spot to climb the standings — if they can ever get healthy.

“This is how it’s going to be until … this might just be how it is, for real,” Council said, letting out a laugh. “We can’t do nothing about what we can’t control so everybody who’s on the court, everybody on the bench, that’s who we got.”

Maxey has put himself in a position to be an All-Star. It’s out of his control now.

What he can control is playing with joy — and maybe a nice chip on his shoulder if he’s an All-Star snub.

“I’m blessed to be able to get up every single morning and do what I love to do,” Maxey said. “Like I said, there was a stretch this year where I wasn’t my happiest. There just was a lot going on. I don’t like to lose; I’ve said that the last five years. But in my mind, I was like, ‘I’m going to go out here, coach up my teammates and make them feel like they want to play basketball, uplift them. And try to be the best possible version of myself and help us win games.’ I think that’s what I’ve been doing.”

A happy and motivated Tyrese Maxey is a dangerous thing for the rest of the NBA.