Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Jaylen Brown made a surprise appearance on the season premiere of "Abbott Elementary" on Wednesday night, but their visit to the fictional Philadelphia school didn't exactly go as planned.
The cameo occurred during a scene in which history teacher Jacob Hill (played by Chris Perfetti) made an Instagram post asking the Philadelphia 76ers to build a playground at Abbott Elementary. Hill had learned that the Philadelphia Eagles build a free playground for a local school each year, but the team had already selected another school.
After a group of impostors wearing Sixers jerseys convinced Hill they were bench players for the team, the real NBA stars arrived to answer his request.
Maxey introduced himself, Edgecombe and the team's "new guy," Brown, telling Hill that he'd seen his Instagram post and found it "very effective."
There was just one problem: Hill, who isn't particularly familiar with men's sports, didn't recognize them.
"If you're the Sixers, then where's LeBron James?" Hill asked.
"This is going to sound like a lie, but he's actually running up the 'Rocky' steps right now," Maxey replied.
"He loves that movie," Brown added.
Unconvinced, Hill dismissed the trio.
"Yeah, right. Get the hell out of here, you tall jerks," he said.
As the players walked away, Hill made the admission:
"I really got to start watching men's sports."
Ahead of the Season 6 premiere, "Abbott Elementary" creator and star Quinta Brunson, a West Philadelphia native who plays second-grade teacher Janine Teagues, shared a photo with the three players on Instagram. Maxey responded in the comments with a goat emoji.
The NBA trio joins a growing list of Philadelphia sports figures who have appeared on the ABC comedy.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts made a virtual appearance during the Season 3 premiere in February 2024, alongside former teammates Jason Kelce and Brandon Graham. Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith has also appeared on the show.
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber appeared in an episode filmed at Citizens Bank Park last season, while Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty was in the Season 2 premiere.
The Sixers have also been part of the show's storylines before. Brunson's character once dressed as former Philadelphia guard James Harden for Halloween, and the teachers competed for courtside Sixers tickets in a Season 2 episode. Former Sixers player Andre Iguodala also made an appearance as a fictional love interest of principal Ava Coleman (played by Janelle James).