Sixers Tyrese Maxey a finalist for NBA's Most Improved Player award

Emerging Philadelphia 76ers' guard Tyrese Maxey earned his first career All-Star game nomination this season, and the explosive University of Kentucky standout may soon add more hardware to his mantlepiece.

The NBA named Maxey as one of the three finalists for this year's Most Improved Player Award.

On Sunday, the NBA also named its finalist for Clutch Player of the Year; Defensive Player of the Year; Most Valuable Player; Rookie of the Year; Sixth Man of the Year; and Coach of the Year.

Here's where Maxey stacks up against the other two finalists.

Tyrese Maxey joins Alperen Sengun, Coby White as NBA Most Improved Player finalists

Chicago Bulls guard Coby White and Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun are the other two finalists for the NBA's MIP award.

Maxey, 23, had a regular season worthy of his all-star nod and could be considered the runaway favorite for the Most Improved Player award.

According to Basketball Reference's statistics on Maxey, the combo guard averaged 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists during the 2023-24 season.

White averaged 19.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists during the recently-concluded season, and Sengun averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5 assists.

Tyrese Maxey only Most Improved Player finalist to make playoffs

While Maxey, Sengun and White would each be deserving of the Most Improved Player award, only Maxey has excelled for a playoff team under immense pressure to win now. Maxey also carried the bulk of the scoring and team leadership when all-star center Joel Embiid missed several weeks with a knee injury.

As Maxey and the Sixers' are continuing their first-round playoff matchup agains the New York Knicks, Sengun's Rockets finished the season in 11th place in the Western Conference with a record of 41-41.

White's Chicago Bulls finished with a record of 39-43, and lost to the Miami Heat in the Play-In Tournament.

The NBA posted the Most Improved Player finalists in an alert on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter:

Maxey, Sixers continue playoff matchup against the Knicks on Monday

Maxey and the Sixers played a gritty game 1 against the Knicks on Saturday, but ultimately lost, 111-104.

Embiid's knee, other Sixers' concerns: Instant takeaways: Joel Embiid's knee scare on massive dunk is not Sixers' biggest problem

Game 2 of the Knicks-Sixers game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 22, from Madison Square Garden.

The game will air in the local market on NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN and 97.5 The Fanatic.

Damon C. Williams covers trending and regional developments for PhillyBurbs.com. Support our journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Could 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey add another accolade to all-star year?