“Taller Than You!”: Tyrese Maxey Quips Back at Reporter for Calling Him ‘Small’

After the Philadelphia 76ers broke their five-game losing streak against the Brooklyn Nets tonight, Jared McCain and Tyrese Maxey sat down for the post-game presser. They must’ve been prepared for a light round today, but a reporter threw a curve ball at them.

They were asked if they could possibly debunk the belief that a team can’t have two smaller guards in charge. Upon hearing the question, McCain started laughing whereas Maxey had a counter question for the reporter.

The 24-year-old asked, “Who said we was small? That’s crazy. I don’t feel like I’m small.”

Everyone else had a good laugh at Maxey’s response, but the reporter firmly believed that these two fell into the category of smaller guards, so, he continued the line of questioning. He asked, “You know how tall are you?”

Instead of simply answering the question, Maxey said, “It’s taller than you.” McCain jumped in, “And I’m taller than him [Maxey], so, that’s true.”

As per the reporter, when a team has a 6’2 guard, they usually need another guard who is at least 6’5 or 6’6 to compensate. That has been the norm in the league for a long period.

Tyrese Maxey didn't love being called small 😂

Reporter: "Do you think you guys can destroy a myth that you can't have two smaller guards?"
Maxey: "Who said we were small? I don't feel like I'm small."
Reporter: "How tall are you?"
Maxey: "Taller than you." pic.twitter.com/nsPP7y4le0

— PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers) November 23, 2024

In this case, Maxey is 6’2 and McCain is only an inch taller than him at 6’3. The final question in this interaction was, “Do you guys feel like the two of you will be just fine playing together?” After sharing a look with his teammate, McCain said,

“Yeah, I mean, I think so. I think because we both play hard. A lot of the game is just playing hard. At this point, they’re going to try and get a mismatch. They’re gonna have an offensive scheme to try to go at us, but as long as we play hard, I think we’ll be able to hold our own.”

McCain said that they can make up for the height factor by putting in more effort and energy into their game. Beating the Nets 113-98 to come out of a slump must’ve helped boost their confidence as well.

McCain dropped 30 points with five rebounds and three assists while Maxey dropped 26 points with four rebounds and five assists.