Philadelphia 76ers: Is T.J. McConnell a keeper for the Sixers?

After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft, T.J. McConnell has blossomed into a serious player for the Philadelphia 76ers. But is he a long-term piece?

Philly loves a hard working, blue collared, started from the bottom story, and no player on any of the city’s major sports teams encompasses that ethos more than Philadelphia 76ers‘ point guard Timothy John McConnell.

McConnell, a Bridgeville, Pennsylvania native, has always been an underdog in basketball and has had to work hard for all of the success that’s come his way. After failing to garner much attention from the scouting community upon coming out of high school, the 6-foot-2 point guard committed his services to his local Duquesne University, where he spent two seasons, before ultimately transferring to the University of Arizona. At Arizona, McConnell lead the Wildcats to a 67-and-9 record over his two seasons with the team and was a big reason why the team made it to two consecutive Elite Eights in the NCAA Tournament.

But all of this production didn’t help his stock in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Even after being named to the Pac-12’s all-defense team for two consecutive seasons, McConnell was bypassed by all 30 NBA teams and ultimately went undrafted. With his chances of playing professional basketball slowly slipping away, the former Wildcat signed a partially guaranteed contract with the 76ers in an attempt to latch on with the then-struggling franchise.

And it worked.

After playing predominantly as a reserve in his first year with the team, McConnell came alive during his second season in South Philly and swiftly established himself as a serious contributor as the team’s starting point guard. Even LeBron James took notice. But with the team drafting point guards Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz first overall in subsequent drafts, what’s his future with the team?

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Make-or-break McConnell

After starting 51-games for Brett Brown‘s squad last season, McConnell has been relegated to the bench this season, but so far, it hasn’t negatively impacted his production.

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After averaging only 15-minutes of playing time over the first four games of the season, McConnell’s role on the team expanded considerably as the team got into the swing of things, and an increase in his production quickly followed suit.

Over the next seven games, McConnell averaged 8-points, 6.5-assists, and 1.7-steals-per-game in about 28-minutes of action-per-night. Those are start numbers. And he’s really starting to hone his craft.

After failing to contribute much on the offensive side of the court for the first two seasons of his career, McConnell has shown that he can be an effective outside shooter in Coach Brown’s offense. The 76ers’ new scheme is based around surrounding Simmons with shooters, and so this emergence of McConnell as a legitimate outside scoring treat will make it incredibly hard for the team to move on from the surging guard.

In addition to a newfound touch from outside, the former Wildcat has also continued to progress in the paint. A slasher by nature, McConnell has taken notes from the Ben Simmons’ flashy pass master class he has a front seat for seemingly every game and has become even more deadly at dishing the ball out when the paint gets clogged. Both when playing alongside Simmons or in relief of the Aussie guard, McConnell’s passing is a big reason why the team is averaging an insane 350-passes-per-game this season.

And most importantly of all, McConnell is still one of the NBA’s biggest pests on the defensive side of the ball.

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While never the biggest, fastest or strongest player on the court, McConnell has established himself as a max effort guy, and at this point is practically legendary for his full-court defense. As highlighted in his six-steal performance against the Houston Rockets, McConnell will give it his all on the defensive side of the ball every minute he’s on the court, even when facing off against some of the leagues best guards, like James Harden, John Wall, and Kyrie Irving.

For better or for worse, Coach Brown takes pride in his team’s tough defensive identity, and cares more about his players giving max effort on every play than their ability to put on a flashy show on the offensive side of the ball, a key reason why players like McConnell, Robert Covington, and Justin Anderson have all found steady roles in his rotation.

While McConnell may not be the perfect player for the 76ers’ new scheme, and surely will struggle to re-establish himself as a starter with Simmons and Fultz on the roster, there is no reason for the team to give up on the young Pennsylvania product anytime soon. He’s shown great maturity coming off of the bench this season and is continuing to develop as a player with each passing season.

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An obvious fan favorite, McConnell has established a great repour with his teammates like Dario Saric, Embiid, and Nik Stauskas and should be given an opportunity to continue to grow with the team long term.