Philadelphia 76ers guard TJ McConnell is Joel Embiid’s “Mini Me”

Fighting off free agents

McConnell was hurled at the black hole on the Philadelphia 76ers roster at the point guard spot once more in the 2016-2017 season.  The team had selected point guard Ben Simmons with the first pick of the 2016 NBA Draft.  Not finished yet, the team signed shooting guard Gerald Henderson, point guard Sergio Rodriguez, and hybrid guard Jerryd Bayless in the off-season.  With Ben Simmons projected to start for the team, and McConnell without a perimeter shot, early projections slid McConnell to fourth on the depth chart.

But Ben Simmons broke his foot and was declared out for the season. Jerryd Bayless injured his wrist, and he too was declared out for the season.  The team tapped Sergio Rodriguez to start, but it was not long until the second-year McConnell demonstrated the ability to run the offense.

The year of the T.J.

That coincided with the team’s surge in 2017.  The team which brought in elite talent from the NBA Draft, from free agency, and even from the Euroleague. In the end, McConnell rose to meet the challenge once more. In his rookie season, T.J. McConnell played in 81 games, and started 17. But the second season, McConnell played in 81 games and started 51 games.  Why? He led the team with 6.6 assists per game, on a team with less than marksman quality shooting.

But he does more than dish out shots. He rebounds 3.1 per game, steals 1.4 per game, and shoots at 46.6 percent from the floor and 75.5 percent from the free throw line.

But even all of that would be simply stats for analytics if it didn’t result in winning games. But McConnell evolved in the 2016-2017 season. The young man who never took a shot began to shoot the ball.