Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey recently appeared on Podcast P with Paul George, where he revealed that his parents aren’t all that tall. Maxey stands at 6’2″, while his parents are between 5’6″ and 5’8″, and that revelation led to his new teammate Paul George bringing out the “Milkman” joke.
“Milkman! Milkman situation right here,” George said.
(starts at 42:32 mark):
George was obviously not serious at all when he said it, but I can think of many people who would have still been very offended by that. Maxey brushed it off without any fuss and I was not surprised by that, considering the 23-year-old’s personality. George certainly picked the right guest to make that joke on.
The “Milkman” joke has been around forever at this point. Even Michael Jordan, who is 6’6″, famously brought it up during an appearance on The Letterman Show back in 1989.
“I’m the tallest,” Jordan said. “My father’s about 5’10, my mother is about 5’5, everyone else is about 5’6.5″, 5’7″… The milkman is about 6’7″.”
I would say it isn’t abnormal at all that Jordan and Maxey are that much taller than their parents. Now, if these two were seven feet tall, then I’d say the joke would be a lot more fitting.
Tyrese Maxey Thinks “The Sky Is The Limit” For The 76ers Following Paul George’s Arrival
There is a lot of excitement in Philadelphia after the 76ers managed to land George on a four-year, $212 million in free agency. Expectations seem to be rising with each passing day and Maxey believes the sky is the limit for the 76ers with George.
“He’s that guy who you can pick up and plug into any system because of his talent. He’s 6’9. This guy can shoot the ball, rebound the ball, and pass the ball well. Play on the ball, play off the ball, play off hand-offs, play off transitions. Like, you know, the sky is the limit.”
“Having a guy like Joel Embiid, who’s the best player in the league, you have to be able to play off the ball, and you have to be able to play in hand-off games with him. You have to do a lot of different things to be versatile and I think he (George) could do that. I think he could play with the second unit and lead those units as well.”
As Maxey pointed out, George is a great fit in any system thanks to his skill set. The 34-year-old averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Los Angeles Clippers last season despite having to share the floor with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.
I think George will excel for the 76ers in the regular season, but the question is how well is he going to play in the postseason. He has had some meltdowns in the playoffs over the years and averaged just 19.5 points on 41.1% shooting from the field against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round this year, as the Clippers lost in six games.
George will have to play better than that for the 76ers, or else he is going to have a whole lot of criticism come his way. It is title or bust in Philadelphia now and the pressure is going to be through the roof come playoffs. It will be interesting to see how George handles it.
