Philadelphia 76ers: T.J. McConnell is playing out of his mind

After holding the top spot in the Eastern Conference for what feels like the whole season, the Philadelphia 76ers have officially fallen into second place behind those pesky Nets of Brooklyn.

Now granted, that could change in a matter of hours and will surely change a number of times between now and the end of the regular season, but for now, the Sixers remains locked into a tight race where every play matters just a little bit more and a boneheaded ejection – see Howard, Dwight – could prove to be the difference between a tight win and an ugly loss.

And hey, just because the Sixers are one of the most entertaining teams in all of basketball doesn’t mean some of their former players aren’t in the middle of bellwether seasons of their own too, now freed from the overly critical eye of the Philly faithful. From Dario Saric, to Robert Covington, Jimmy Butler, and really everyone but J.J. Redick, former Sixers are having themselves a moment at the moment, even if the news doesn’t always make it all the way back to the City of Brotherly Love.

But do you know who is having a surprisingly good season? That would be none other than Philly’s former favorite fullcourt presser, T.J. McConnell.

Philadelphia 76ers fans should be proud of T.J. McConnell’s accomplishments.

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Do you know how many players have recorded nine steals in the first half of a game in NBA history? One, and his name is Timothy John McConnell.

Alright, alright, is that a bit of a nit-picky record? Sure, but it’s still an impressive one, especially when you consider just how unlikely it is that McConnell is even in the position to earn such honors six years into his NBA career.

A four-year collegiate athlete who split his time between Duquesne and Arizona, McConnell initially joined the Sixers as an undrafted free agent in 2015 (more on that here). Though the team already had seven point guards on their roster – players ranging from Ish Smith and Isaiah Cannon to Tony Wroten and Phil Pressey – McConnell forced his way onto the opening day roster through a relentless work ethic and a willingness to do the little things Brett Brown wanted from a change of pace point guard; from picking up full court to giving opposing ball handlers heck as an on-ball pest.

That 2015-16 team was bad, like real bad, but for fans in Philly eager to get emotionally attached to players who maybe, just maybe could stick around when the team finally got good, McConnell leapfrogging older, more experienced points for playing time instantly made him a hometown hero, even if he technically grew up on the other side of the Keystone State.

Now granted, any thought of McConnell shocking the world to become the Sixers’ John Stockton-esque point guard of the future swiftly flew out the window at the end of the season, as the now-Sam Hinkie-less squad was awarded the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, but even with Simmons on the roster, the diminutive point guard still found ways to remain a steady part of Brown’s rotation – appearing in 252 games with 57 starts over the next three seasons.

Though Elton Brand – the third Sixers GM over McConnell’s tenure with the team – ultimately opted against retaining the former Wildcat when he became a free agent in the summer of 2019, McConnell has remained a fan favorite to this day, even as he took his talents to Indiana on a two-year deal worth $7 million total.

Between you and me, I think McConnell’s next contract is going to be worth a whole lot more than $3.5 million AAV, as he might just be one of the biggest steals in the NBA today.

Playing the most minutes on average of any season in his professional career since 2016-17, due to a variety of reasons ranging from Victor Oladipo‘s trade to Caris LeVert‘s scary bout with renal cell carcinoma, McConnell is averaging 7.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, all of which are among the best marks of his career. Serving largely as the Pacers’ change of pace point, playing alongside everyone from fellow points like Aaron Holiday to true twos like LeVert, and players who fall somewhere in between like perpetual trade candidate Malcolm Brogdon, McConnell’s ability to get his teammates involved as a hardwood floor general has aged like fine wine, even if his lack of elite athleticism still leaves the now-29-year-old in inopportune situations from time to time.

If you’d have told me McConnell would one day lead the NBA in both steals per game and total steals alongside players like Kawhi Leonard and Jrue Holiday, I don’t think I would have believed you, but he very much is, and that’s very much a positive development for a player who many considered too small/offensively limited/unathletic to become a long-term NBA player.

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Despite putting up good numbers in his final season at Arizona, many NBA teams viewed T.J. McConnell as at best a second-round pick who would have to spend a few years honing his game in Europe before he made it to the NBA. That isn’t the path McConnell wanted to go down, and now, six years later, that idea looks downright foolish. Though he surely wouldn’t fit on the Philadelphia 76ers as they are presently constructed, as McConnell doesn’t take 3s and never quite meshed when paired up with Simmons on the court, it’s always nice to see a former player shine when given a chance to prove his worth, especially when it’s on a 21-25 team who likely won’t be much of a threat in the playoffs.