The Sixer Sense
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T.J. McConnell’s Potential and Future With Philadelphia 76ers

By Michael Bronson

Apr 12, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Chasson Randle (40) defends against Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (1) as he dribbles the ball during the second half at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks won 114-113. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Chasson Randle (40) defends against Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (1) as he dribbles the ball during the second half at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks won 114-113. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 4, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (1) passes the ball during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Wells Fargo Center. The Brooklyn Nets won 141-118. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (1) passes the ball during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Wells Fargo Center. The Brooklyn Nets won 141-118. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Earned A Spot

McConnell did just enough to prove he deserved to be on the team his rookie season.  The perception, however, was a lot of his success had to due with being part of one of the worst NBA teams in history.

You see, every team regardless how bad has a best player.  While McConnell wasn’t the Sixers’ best player, he was one of their better players.  In his rookie season, he averaged 19.8 minutes per game at the most difficult position on the court. In fact McConnell’s 6.1 points, 4.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.7 turnovers per game was good enough to eventually wrest the starting point guard role.

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Well, at least until the team traded for former point guard Ish Smith.  But he wasn’t good enough to convince anyone that should be a member of the Sixers long term.  Fortunately, his sophomore season changed that.

Free Agents

The Sixers signed Jerryd Bayless and Sergio Rodriguez to be both starting and backup point guards for the 2016-17 season.  In retrospect McConnell starting in 51 of the Sixers’ 82 games at the position seems surprising.

But Bayless only played in three of the Sixers’ games due to injury.

Meanwhile, McConnell simply outperformed Rodriquez in assists (6.6 to 5.1), rebounds (3.1 to 2.3), and steals (1.6 to 0.7) per game. While McConnell’s 6.9 points per game is less than Rodriquez’s 7.8 points per game, McConnell was only making $874,636 this season compared to Rodriquez’s $6,800,000 and Bayless’ $9,424,084.