Tyrese Maxey hosting basketball camp in Lexington. Why he’s back and what UK meant to him.

Tyrese Maxey remembers the moments as a kid when his dream of reaching the NBA felt tangible.

Those memories were connected to up-close encounters with NBA players from North Texas, where Maxey was born and raised.

He recalled attending basketball camps hosted by fellow North Texas natives LaMarcus Aldridge and Chris Bosh as a child, and the power that came with seeing and watching a top-level basketball player in person.

Now, Maxey is doing his part to inspire the next generation in a similar fashion.

The former Kentucky player and current standout guard with the Philadelphia 76ers is wrapping up a three-city tour of his “Tyrese Maxey 1% Skills Camp.”

The camp made stops in Philadelphia on Aug. 6 and Dallas last weekend, and comes to Lexington on Saturday.

“Just creating those memories and trying to give back and try to influence kids to be the best they can possibly be at whatever they want to do,” Maxey told the Herald-Leader on Wednesday. “That’s really my goal here.”

Open to boys and girls who are 7-12 years old, the three-hour camp will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday at the Joe Craft Center — UK’s basketball practice facility — on the Kentucky campus.

What does Maxey hope to replicate from his experiences at the Aldridge and Bosh camps?

“The whole idea of this is just to motivate,” Maxey said. “It’s not just to motivate them to be basketball players. It’s really life motivation to go out there and be the best they can possibly be at whatever they want to do. That should be the end goal.”

It’s been more than two years since the now-21-year-old Maxey finished his lone season at Kentucky, when he averaged 14 points and three assists per game across 31 games for the Cats, who went 25-6 overall before the season was abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maxey was then selected No. 21 overall by the Sixers in November 2020 in a pandemic-delayed NBA Draft.

“Even though I was only (in Lexington) for six months, I feel like I grew so much as a person and as a basketball player,” Maxey said. “I made so many connections that it felt like another home to me because it’s the only college I’ll ever go to.”

Maxey expanded on some of those memories from his time at UK, explained what John Calipari did for him in his basketball development and discussed his emerging NBA career with the Sixers in a phone call with the Herald-Leader.

What stands out in your memories from your time at UK?

“I think what really stood out in my mind is that the entire university really helped me and that’s all the way up from from Coach Calipari, to all the way down to my professors and PR people and just the students. It was a big time for me, going away from my family and growing up and I feel like I grew a lot and I felt like Coach Cal really instilled in me how to be a better young man and also how to be a better basketball player. So it’ll always be another home in my heart.”

How do you think Coach Cal and the rest of the coaching staff helped you get ready for the NBA?

“I think two of the biggest things that Coach Cal does is one: He treats you like a professional. He doesn’t beg you to get in the gym. He’s not saying you have time to work out. That’s all your own. If you want to get in the gym and you want to work, if you want to be successful, he leaves it up to you. He makes you build your own confidence. I think that’s one of the biggest things because that’s how the NBA is. Nobody is begging you to get in the gym, nobody is trying to force you to get in there, you have to get in there on your own time.

“Secondly, he shows you how to share, Coach Cal is really big on sharing. He had guys, multiple guys that can play and when you get to the NBA everybody has to be a star in their role. So at Kentucky we all had roles. ... Some nights guys were scoring 25, some nights guys were scoring eight, four points, but the only thing that mattered was us winning. So bringing that and carrying that on to the NBA I think that was two of my most successful things.”

What’s your relationship like now with Coach Cal and guys from that 2019-20 team?

“I talk to those guys all the time. We built such a great bond there, starting out through the summer ... the bond will be there for lifetime friendships. Coach Cal comes to (Sixers) games all the time and he’s been great. He comes and checks in. I know he came to the game when I got to play against Immanuel (Quickley of the New York Knicks), so it’s great to see two Kentucky guys at one time.

“So it’s really been great. I have no complaints whatsoever ... the brotherhood of that community and that university has been amazing.”

What has it been like in Philadelphia playing for a highly respected NBA coach in Doc Rivers?

“It’s been great. I appreciate Coach Doc, he’s a great coach, a great leader. He’s so good with managing personalities and being able to communicate and converse with his players. People respect him. He’s a champion. He’s won, he played in the NBA. He does a really good job of coaching us, preparing us to play basketball games to try and win a championship, but he also does a great job of being a mentor and helping us with life and social stuff as well.”

What have you spent this offseason working on?

“One of the main things I’ve been working on is self-creation, for my teammates and for myself. Once you get to the playoffs, sometimes (opponents) know the play and all those things. So it comes down to being able to break down your man and get to spots to score and get to spots to where your teammates are open and you’re finding them.

“So those are the two main things that I’ve been focusing on. Another thing is just being better on the defensive end, being more sound, pick navigation and being able to get to the ball. And then the last thing is just my body. I think building a body is so important especially because we play so many games.”