The John Calipari guard tree continues to blossom in the NBA.
Two of Calipari's greatest success stories are De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Maxey, who are both ranked highly in FanSided's NBA99, a list of the league's best players. Maxey comes in at No. 20, whereas Fox lands at No. 22. The Kentucky products have earned such respect, and it's easy to find the parallels between the new San Antonio Spurs point guard and the Philadelphia 76ers' brightest gem.
It starts with quickness. There's a strong case for Fox and Maxey as the two fastest players in the NBA. Few athletes can so effortlessly achieve max velocity with a live dribble — and even few possess better body control and coordination when moving at full speed.
Watching Fox split defenses down the middle is a singular treat for basketball fans. Watching Maxey contort his body in midair after a full-on sprint to the basket is completely mesmerizing. They're both special athletes who have developed the necessary skills to accentuate their innate dynamism.
Both are stunning offensive engines — here's why Maxey gets the edge between the two in our rankings.
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Why Tyrese Maxey landed higher than De'Aaron Fox
Firstly, we shouldn't get too wrapped up in specific rankings here. Maxey and Fox are both located near the top of Tier 3, which we defined along the lines of high-level starters and complementary stars. Neither is the best player on a contender, but as secondary weapons built to orbit around other stars (or set them up, in Fox's case), they're comparably elite.
That said, Maxey does have the edge, if only slightly. There's a reason for that, even if Fox is the more established and accomplished player. Both share similar measurements and athletic traits, but approach the game in vastly different ways. Fox is a traditional point guard and has spent the majority of his career pulling the strings on offense. Maxey, meanwhile, has been a second banana to Joel Embiid and (once upon a time) James Harden. He's dialed in as a shooter and can toggle more easily between on and off-ball duties.
It's more complicated than "Maxey shoots more 3s," but it's a huge factor. Maxey's efficiency on those shots has flatlined a bit this season, partially due to injuries and partially due to a constantly shifting role. Don't get it twisted, though: Maxey is a game-breaking shooter and a far more potent weapon than Fox from that range.
The latter deserves immense credit for upping both his volume and efficiency over the years, but Maxey is attempting 9.4 triples per game compared to 6.2 for Fox. He's also more consistent (34.3 percent to 31.3 percent in Maxey's favor), even in a down season. That puts tremendous stress on a defense.
It's difficult to overstate the value of Maxey's shooting when paired with his speed. It is awfully hard for defenders to properly sell out on his 3-point attempts when Maxey can get two feet in the paint in a split second. He's a constant driving threat, which keeps defenders stuck in an awkward limbo. With each passing season, Maxey gets better at leveraging his shooting gravity to set up drives, get into the teeth of the defense, and create for others.
Fox is certainly the more impactful playmaker. It doesn't necessarily show up in the raw assist numbers, but Fox attempts higher-difficulty passes and possesses a keen eye for open teammates. Maxey has steadily improved in that department, but the majority of his assist diet is simple drive-and-kicks. He still gets flustered under pressure and struggles to see the game multiple steps in advance. Maxey is reactive, whereas Fox can be more proactive with his passing.
That was the knock on Maxey's scoring for the longest time, too. He would put his head down, try to get to the rim, and seldom adjust to unexpected impediments. That has changed in recent years, though. Maxey is mixing speeds and operating at a more refined tempo. It's not all breakneck speed or standstill shooting. He can get his defenders off-balance, apply the breaks, and more patiently worm his way through the teeth of the defense.
That ought to, in due time, lead to a more polished passing repertoire as Maxey continues to see the floor better. It's worth noting that he's a full three years younger than Fox and has made tangible progress every season since arriving in the NBA.
More broadly, Maxey has become a far more malleable and explosive scorer. Fox can get hot, of course, but Maxey is not just a superior shooter. He's scalable in ways Fox is not, comfortable ripping spot-up 3s and working off the ball. He's more consistent as a pull-up threat, with far deeper range on his 3s. And, not to be underrated, Maxey is a flat-out elite finisher. Fox can finish at full speed, but there isn't a player in the NBA better at staying balanced through contact and hitting touch shots at warp velocity than Maxey. The feathery runners, the full-speed layups, the impressive hang-time on stretchy, awkward finishes around a contesting big — Maxey is the complete package in that regard.
To round it out, Maxey has made a meaningful leap from defensive liability to defensive neutral in 2024-25. Sometimes he's even in the green, racking up steals and using his broad-shouldered frame to stifle ball-handlers at the point of attack. This is a huge development for Maxey and it should get shine when he's back in a winning environment down the line.
So, while Fox is great and deserves his flowers, Maxey has surpassed him in the hierarchy of Kentucky guards in the NBA. It's a simple truth.