T.J. McConnell has been count out seemingly his whole life, even as he hits buzzer beaters over NBA All-Stars. How much longer until Philadelphia 76ers fans realize he’s a “real deal?”
T.J. McConnell — you might know the name, and you might remember pushing him off as a possibility for the Philadelphia 76ers before last season began as a player who was fit to make the final roster.
Injuries and being involved with a team that didn’t have much talent to begin with helped McConnell a lot, and he made that final roster, against all odds.
Still, Sixers fans thought there was no way he would make it until January 10th, the day his contract became guaranteed for the whole year. January 11th rolled by and McConnell was still with the team.
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Okay, so what? The Sixers have to pay his teensy-weensy (in basketball numbers, anyway) rookie minimum salary. Big whoop, they’ll cut him before next year.
Nope.
One year after that first guaranteed contract day, and McConnell is still here. Fittingly, he’s still proving most, if not all of us wrong. Even those that stood behind T.J. at all stages never really sold him as a player who would be hitting game winners during a time when Sixers players were talking about the playoffs.
But right now, it’s all about McConnell. While the world seems to have counted him out with every chance they got, head coach Brett Brown let him have the keys to the car on the final possession of the game with the Sixers down one, against the New York Knicks, a very real NBA team.
McConnell didn’t start with the ball on the break of that very last possession that ended up being decisive for the game. Gerald Henderson worked the ball down the court, Derrick Rose shifted to guard Henderson, and McConnell took notice, continuing to fill the lane. Henderson moved the ball to a streaking Ilyasova who saw McConnell open on the left side, near the post. Carmelo Anthony shifted to guard McConnell, but was too big to keep a handle on the quick T.J. who jabbed in, rotated out, sunk the shot at the buzzer (all in the matter of a second and a half), and forced a choice four-letter word to come out of Melo’s mouth.
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That’s our T.J., the one not even most Sixers fans believe in. But it’s time to start believing. It’s time to stop acting like McConnell is such a burden to the roster, and it’s time to stop acting like he’s something that can’t be around for much longer. Have we not learned our lesson with McConnell? Have we not taken notice to what he can do?
He probably puts out the most effort on the floor at any given time, and certainly is more willing to play harder on every play than Jahlil Okafor, and to be accepting of whatever role he’s handed than Nerlens Noel. But why are fans defending one of those two players at almost all costs and never McConnell?
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I, for one, am done expressing that I don’t want T.J. around until he absolutely proves that when he’s given the authority to do so, he can’t do something great.
McConnell was moved over to the starting point guard slot when Sergio Rodriguez went out with an ankle sprain a few days ago. Now, on the season, McConnell is 4-1 as a starter. Keep doing it until it stops working.
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McConnell has proven himself every time he has been counted out. Maybe that’s because he thrives on the doubts. Maybe he feeds off of it. Whatever is going on for McConnell right now, it’s working. But we need to realize something — he might just be the real deal.