Tyrese Maxey had nothing but praise for the Detroit Pistons after losing to the #1 seed originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
In the 2025-26 season, most people did not expect the Detroit Pistons to be as good as they have been. After their win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, they clinched the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference ahead of the Playoffs.
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As one of the star players for the 76ers, Tyrese Maxey is well aware that his team could have done better. However, he wanted to make sure that he gave praise to the Pistons for their excellent season.
Maxey knows the Pistons deserve the #1 seed
The 76ers entered the 2025-26 season with some limited expectations due to their worrying health. That became the story of the season because Joel Embiid was mostly healthy, but he still dealt with some nagging injuries.
At the same time, Embiid also had restrictions, especially with the back-to-back restrictions. That meant Maxey and the rest of the team had to step up. Now, they are not assured a spot in the Playoffs just yet, but it is impressive that they have performed so well.
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In contrast, the Pistons were not seen as a top team at all before the season. However, with Cade Cunningham’s rise to superstardom and Jalen Duren’s breakout, the Pistons managed to become the best team in the East.
The 76ers had no choice but to respect what their fellow East team did this season. It can be a bit jarring because they have leap-frogged the 76ers, but Maxey made sure to praise the Pistons after losing to them on Saturday.
“They play hard, they play the right way. Today was the first game in a game I played when they kind of jumped on us early…The last two games we played against them were really good, really should’ve won the game, but they play hard,” Maxey said after the loss to the Pistons on Saturday.
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Moving forward, this should be motivation for the 76ers. They could even be playing against the Pistons in the Playoffs, as they could be in the Play-In Tournament. If that happens, rest assured that the 76ers are ready to contribute.