T.J. McConnell for 6th Man of the Year

By Joe DiProsperos | Mar 22, 2018

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 11: T.J. McConnell #12 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates during the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on March 11, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matteo Marchi/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** T.J. McConnell /

T.J. McConnell has consistently been the spark off the bench this Philadelphia 76ers team has needed, and he deserves much more recognition for that.

When most people think of the Process, a myriad of different things come to mind. An egregious amount of losing leading to lottery picks out the wazoo is most often brought up in the discussion. Yet you can’t deny the fact that it’s producing quite the results. It has landed the Philadelphia 76ers legitimate big-name stars in Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, and Markelle Fultz.

Of course there have also been some pleasant surprises to come out of this five-year-long process. Chief among them being Robert Covington, who has developed into one of the premier 3-and-D wings in the association. It’s even more remarkable considering he went undrafted in 2013 and was waived by the Rockets after his rookie year (which he spent a majority of in the D-League) before joining the Sixers.

Clearly, the odds were stacked against Robert. It’s something Timothy John McConnell can easily relate to.

T.J., like RoCo, is a living embodiment of trusting the process. The undrafted, third-year point guard out of Arizona, who had to beat out five other guards just to make the team his rookie year, has gone from being essentially expendable to becoming a staple on this Sixers squad.

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He’s everything you would want out of a backup point guard: a smart passer, good ball handler, solid scorer, and an intense grinder. He doesn’t necessarily put up the glamorous stats the casual NBA fan would find attractive on a consistent basis per se, as he averages only 6.6 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds.

Yet, he has flashed the ability to stuff the box score throughout the season. This includes a 15-point, 13-assist performance against the Orlando Magic, an 18-point, eight-assist game against the Toronto Raptors, and a 17-point, eight-assist outing versus the L.A. Clippers.

Oh, I also forgot to mention the triple-double he posted off the bench against the Knicks this past February — becoming the first Sixer to ever deliver a triple-double off the bench.

Moreover, when comparing T.J.’s numbers to other NBA bench players who get around the same amount of playing time, he’s either near or among the top five in steals and assists per game, three-point percentage (which he more than doubled from last year), assist percentage, and pace.

Numbers aside, the aspects of a game T.J. truly influences never show up on stat sheets. When I said that he’s a grinder, that was putting it lightly. If grit was a stat, he would be among the league’s best. He’s an absolute pest in every sense of the word on the defensive end, often times leading to steals that lead to excellent scoring opportunities for the Sixers.

Whenever I watch T.J. play full-court, lock-down defense on the ball handler, it really reminds me of Matthew Dellavedova in the 2015 Finals. I absolutely despised Delly in the playoffs that year, but the way T.J. dives for loose balls and runs all around the court like a mad man, I can’t help but think of Delly’s performance that year.

Those intangibles, on top of his solid stat-line, are what put T.J. over the top in terms of his status as one of the better backup point guards in the association. They’ve helped him become a probable finalist for Sixth Man of the Year this season, and in my opinion he deserves significant consideration for the award.

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While I’m fully aware that it is such a numbers-obsessed game these days, and that obviously may not work in T.J.’s favor, the impact and spark that T.J. brings off the bench for the Sixers should earn him some well-deserved recognition.