“He came to my house” – LeBron James recalls meeting Tyrese Maxey when he was playing video games with Bronny and Bryce

LeBron James and Tyrese Maxey are now teammates in Philadelphia, but their relationship goes back to a time when the 25-year-old guard was still a teenager trying to find his way into the NBA.​

The two have spent plenty of time training together since James decided to join the Philadelphia 76ers, including workouts that have also involved their new teammates and former Finals MVP Jaylen Brown.

Maxey is coming off a strong 2025-26 season with the Sixers, averaging career highs of 28.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists over 70 games. He shot 46.2 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from three while earning his first All-NBA selection and second All-Star appearance.

This is the version of Tyrese that LeBron would eventually see as a teammate. But when the two first met, the Sixers guard was spending time at the James household before the 2020 NBA Draft.

LeBron recalls meeting a 19-year-old Maxey

During a recent episode of his Mind the Game podcast, James recalled meeting Maxey when he finished his college basketball season with the Kentucky Wildcats. Maxey was four years older than Bronny James, but that age gap was apparently not enough to keep him from spending time with LeBron’s sons.

“He’s been the same person since the moment I met him before he was drafted into the NBA. The same, exact person,”LeBronsaid. “He came to my house, and at that point in time, he was 19 years old, so he was actually hanging with Bronny and Bryce. They was like playing video games inside the house.”

LeBron loves Tyrese’s humble nature

That first meeting also gave James an early look at Maxey’s nature away from basketball. He remembered how respectful the young guard was toward everyone in the house, including his wife, Savannah.

“[He] came in super respectful to me, super respectful to my wife, super respectful to everybody in the house. Bright smile, and just like super down to earth, you know? And from the moment he’s gotten drafted, to the perennial All-Star, superstar that he’s becoming, nothing has changed.” LeBron added.

The four-time MVP has watched plenty of young stars arrive on the pro stage with a humble mindset and something to prove. Still, as their names grow bigger, that humility often seems to fade. For LeBron, that part has remained important as Tyrese’s career has taken off.

Moreover, when James became available this summer after he decided not to run it back with the Lakers, the Sixers guard was already familiar with the superstar he was trying to recruit.

How Maxey helped bring LeBron to Philly

During the season premiere of his podcast, the four-time NBA champion revealed that Maxey was among the first people to reach out to him after his situation with the Los Angeles Lakers became clear.

“When I became a free agent, and we decided to let the Lakers know that I wouldn’t be returning,”LeBronsaid. “He was one of the first people that was on my line, uh, calling me, ‘Yo, what we doing? Yo, what’s up? What’s up, OG? What’s up? What’s up, old head? You know, come on down here, man. We can use you down here.'”

When James picked up Maxey’s call, he was no longer that teenager who was friends with his sons — he was calling as an All-NBA guard with a plan to build a championship-caliber team in Philly.

The Sixers’ offseason eventually brought the pieces together, with James joining Maxey and Joel Embiid after Brown arrived through the Celtics’ trade. The franchise now has a very different-looking group around Maxey, but his down-to-earth nature has helped him build a connection with their new superstars.

This story was originally published byBasketball Networkon Oct 2, 2026, where it first appeared in theOff The Courtsection. Add Basketball Network as aPreferred