Philadelphia 76ers: T.J. McConnell shines on The WOJ Report
If T.J. McConnell’s stint as the longest-tenured member of the Philadelphia 76ers ends in July, he gave fans a wonderful parting gift on this weeks edition of ‘The WOJ Report’.
T.J. McConnell isn’t just the Philadelphia 76ers backup point guard.
No, in a lot of ways, the Pittsburgh native has become the literal personification of Philly Tuff; a blue-collar wearing, full-court pressing point guard with an eye for the ball and a killer’s mentality.
And this week, McConnell’s winning personality was on full display on the latest edition of ‘The Woj Report‘.
Recorded in Arizona, a special place for the former Wildcats‘ point guard, McConnell and ESPN Basketball Insider Adrian Wojnarowski’s close to 40 minute talk touched on pretty much every segment of the basketball process, from free agency, to undrafted free agency, to Timothy John’s transforming from a deep bench reserve to a rotational piece on a playoff squad.
McConnell even had a very interesting anecdote about his first NBA game, facing off against a then-MVP candidate Isaiah Thomas.
.@TJMcConnell on his NBA debut against the Celtics: "It was one of the most embarassing moments of my life. ... They called a play as soon as I checked in and @isaiahthomas came off, scored. Boston brings the ball back down, I look over at Brad [Stevens] and he goes ‘Again.’"
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 29, 2019
Boy, time really flies.
Since McConnell’s initial embarrassment in Boston, the 6-foot-2 guard has pretty much played every possible role on every possible team, from being a reserve on a bad team, to being a starter on an okay team, to being a rotational piece on a great team.
Through the ups and downs of the ‘Process’, McConnell has been the lone constant on Brett Brown‘s roster.
And hey, if this really is the last we see of McConnell in a red, white, and blue jersey, at least we got one final interview highlighting his love of the Sixers, J.J. Redick, and basketball in Philadelphia.
After four years of tireless service, that feels pretty good.
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So, as the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for free agency and potentially scour the market for a better fitting, hopefully 3-point shooting small-ball point guard to back up Ben Simmons, take a moment to check out T.J. McConnell’s appearance on ‘The Woj Report’ and reminisce on the ‘T.J. McConnell-era’ of basketball in the City of Brotherly Love.