League Pass Favorites: T.J. McConnell brings the heat

Tune into a Philadelphia 76ers game this season, and your eyes likely dart right toward Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. The potential Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively, have dragged the Sixers from a cellar-dwelling embarrassment to a playoff squad, while J.J. Redick, Robert Covington and Dario Saric round out the NBA’s most productive starting five.

But once Philly’s reserves start pouring in, it’s impossible not to notice T.J. McConnell.

While Embiid appointed himself The Process, few players better reflect the Sixers’ rebuilding strategy under former general manager Sam Hinkie than McConnell. Not only was the Process about landing multiple high-lottery picks to take as many swings at elite prospects as possible, but Hinkie also eschewed signing fill-in veterans to instead prioritize players on nonguaranteed contracts or 10-day deals. Figuring the hit rate was infinitesimal on said long shots, Hinkie cycled through dozens of such players throughout his three-year tenure, hoping to find a handful of keepers along the way.

McConnell and Covington are the lone survivors from that experiment.

Take your pick of your favorite token white-guy description — gritty, scrappy, a hustler — all apply to McConnell. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder lacks the physical frame and athleticism of a typical NBA lead guard, but he makes up for it with his tenacity, particularly on defense. Among players who’ve been on the floor for at least 500 minutes this season, McConnell is tied for eighth in terms of deflections per 36 minutes (3.7) and is tied for 13th in loose balls recovered per 36 minutes (1.7).

“The most underrated player in the NBA is TJ McConnell from the Sixers,” an anonymous Eastern Conference center told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype last July. “If you just look at his stats, they’re never going to jump out at you, but that little f–ker is tough. He’s a tough kid. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, I’ll just screen this little white boy and lay him out,’ but he fights through every screen. He’s gritty and he doesn’t back down from anyone.”

Since his NBA debut in 2015-16, McConnell has been one of the league’s most annoying players to go up against. (In other words, he’s the Sixers’ version of Marcus Smart.) The Arizona product was tied for ninth among qualified players in steal percentage as a rookie, finished in a four-way tie for second last season and was in a three-way tie for 12th this year heading into Sunday. Despite having only a 6-foot-2 wingspan, he’s adept at jumping into passing lanes and creating transition opportunities.

He’s particularly pesky following a made basket or a rebound. As the Sixers’ opponent attempts to advance the ball past half court, he’s ready to pounce for an unexpected steal and an easy deuce.

“You see a guy kind of not paying attention throwing the ball in and I just step in and jump in front of it and get a steal,” McConnell told Rich Hofmann of The Athletic about his propensity for creating takeaways off inbounds plays. “And it’s big momentum for us, which is what I’m trying to do, just change the game when I do it.”

Though McConnell’s per-game averages of 6.9 points, 4.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals don’t scream difference-maker, his hard-nosed approach has endeared him to fellow teammates. In particular, Embiid loves the kid.

After McConnell capped a game-ending 15-4 run against the New York Knicks by coolly drilling a turnaround step-back jumper with 0.2 seconds left last January, Embiid damn near murdered him while celebrating.

A few weeks later, the social media savant made a humble comparison:

Embiid’s infatuation with McConnell carried over to the current season, even though the stakes are far higher for the Sixers in this go-round. Following McConnell’s first career triple-double against the Knicks in mid-February, Embiid had some choice words to describe the Sixers’ backup point guard.

Sixers head coach Brett Brown feels the same way about McConnell.

“You respect him, you really respect him. He just plays so hard,” Brown told reporters following McConnell’s first triple-double. “He’s a wonderful lesson for so many basketball players in relation to what determination, perseverance, toughness can bring you to.”

Brown’s admiration for McConnell dates back to the predraft process in 2015. While the Arizona product wound up going undrafted that year, Brown felt as though his relentless energy could help him carve out a path to the NBA.

“You fell in love with the tenacity, but what stood out immediately was he had a motor,” he said in late November, per Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com.

Next: CJ McCollum and the art of separation

That motor helps him overcome the deficiencies in his game, as Mark Deeks of Give Me Sport highlighted earlier this year.

"“Somehow – despite the fact he cannot drive past people without a screen, despite the fact he is a substandard shooter, despite the fact he cannot finish at the rim unless someone truly left the door wide open, despite the fact that he almost almost almost always drives to his right, and despite the fact that there should be no favourable defensive match-ups for him – McConnell finds enough in the angles and reading of the play to get by. And to get by when so limited relies upon a combination of smarts and bloody-mindedness.”"

That’s what makes him a League Pass standout.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com or Basketball-Reference.com and are current heading into Sunday, March 11.