Philadelphia 76ers: T.J. McConnell Wants to Improve 3-Point Shot This Summer

Speaking to Nik Stauskas on his Philadelphia 76ers podcast Sauce and Co., T.J. McConnell said that this summer he intends on refining his 3-point shot.

While many of his doubters have been silenced this season after a stellar showing as the starting point guard, and a few clutch game-winning shots for the Philadelphia 76ers, T.J. McConnell does have his detractors out there.

McConnell started his NBA career with doubt being thrown from all directions at him. People doubted he would be able to make it onto an NBA team as an undrafted rookie. He worked his tail off in training camp and made it onto the Sixers. This season, people doubted he would be kept around, but due to injuries and an outstanding work ethic again, he was.

He started as the backup point guard this season to Sergio Rodriguez, but has since taken over the starting role this year. Since being named the starter, McConnell has averaged 8.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game. Prior to being named the starter, he was averaging just 4.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.

More from The Sixer Sense

As a starter, he is also shooting 8 percent better from the field.

There still is one big knock on McConnell as a starting point guard, and that is that he can’t shoot the ball from beyond the arc. McConnell shoots nearly 50 percent from the field, but shoots just 20.9 percent from the 3-point line and beyond. He takes 0.8 per game this season.

This is a huge step back from last year, where he shot 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. While that’s still not the mark of a truly sharp shooting point guard, it is significantly better than the numbers McConnell has put up this year.

Although the numbers are bad, McConnell is aware of it, and is aware of the trade-offs that come with that. On the latest episode of Sauce and Co., Nik Stauskas’s podcast, he asked McConnell what he was going to work on moving forward, and McConnell essentially said that the one thing he would be focusing on this offseason is his 3-point shot.

"“For me, I know a lot of people go under on me on ball screens. And I’m looking forward, this summer mostly, is becoming a deadly knockdown 3-point shooter. I’m going to work relentlessly, and I mean relentlessly on my 3-point shot. I know I took a step back in that aspect this year.”"

Stauskas and McConnell are best friends on and off the court, and that makes for some really honest conversation when the two get together for something like a podcast. This discussion about improvement and skills might be something we wouldn’t otherwise hear without Nik’s podcast.

NBA Draft: Mock Draft 3.0

If McConnell can truly work on his shot to the point where he’s above 35 percent, and closing in on 40, he would be a really solid option as a backup point guard moving forward. The other attributes he has — his ability to move the ball, get inside on his own, and his lock-down defense — are already solid.

Next: Holmes Highlights Why Sixers Must Trade Okafor

The rest of the podcast also had some really interesting conversation, but this was one thing that stuck out.

T.J. McConnell Says He Is Going to Work on 3-Point Shot “Relentlessly”

By Josh Wilson | Mar 28, 2017

Speaking to Nik Stauskas on his Philadelphia 76ers podcast Sauce and Co., T.J. McConnell said that this summer he intends on refining his 3-point shot.

More from The Sixer Sense