Garland's Tyrese Maxey Is Able To Live The NBA Dream Because Of Tons Of Family Support
GARLAND, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — Tyrese Maxey's rookie NBA season took his game and name to a worldwide stage... but he still thinks there's no place like home.
Maxey said, "I take the ultimate pride in being from Garland...people say Dallas...I say Garland".
South Garland High School is where Tyrese became an absolute star -- one that shined so bright he only had to play college ball for one year to live out his dream of being a first round pick. Maxey said the tears on that night was the culmination of "the emotion of all the hard work...people this is where I wanted to be since I was 6 or 7 years old".
"For him to cry like that made me cry a little bit," said his sister, Denasia Maxey.
Tyrese isn't just reaching his goals. His dad, Tyrone Maxey, was a great player himself... a state champion in the late 80's at Dallas' Hillcrest High School.
"That was my dream and a lot of people's dreams," the teenager said.
Tyrese's mother, Denyse Maxey, said, "We've watched the NBA every year. Now I'm sitting on the couch watching my son."
Tyrese can now take some time to sit on the couch as well and soak in an unforgettable year with the people who have always been by his side. He explained that, "we're a close knit family....and we don't make decisions without each other."
The Maxey family has been blessed with another extremely gifted athlete in the family -- Denasia, who is a sophomore at Sachse High School and an Under Armor All-American volleyball player. It has brought me a lot of pride," she said. "I worked really hard to get there."
Denyse Maxey said she doesn't think that her and her husband were challenged by having such talented children. "We don't know anything different than to support them and make sure they have the positive support they need from us," she said.
Never was that support system more evident than following Tyrese's one and only season at the University of Kentucky. "As soon as quarantine hit my parents came and got me and drove me home to a house full of 13 people," he recalled. "Everything was scarce. We had the best time of our lives."
And that will always be the case. The lasting point Tyrese would like to make to kids in this area is that even without the ideal circumstances the only thing that can really stop you is yourself.
Maxey's final point is -- "You can be talented, but if you don't put the work in every single day you really don't have a chance".