T.J. McConnell shining in the NBA as a Starter leading his Sixers
T.J. McConnell is now a starter in the NBA for the Sixers, he is leading his team to win after win but was overlooked for the NBA’s Rising Stars Challenge.
We have been reporting about T.J. McConnell since he kissed the floor goodbye at McKale Center in his final game in Tucson, so being able to write about his accolades is extra special.
T.J. McConnell has come off the bench since playing in the NBA, which he had no problem with because he is the ultimate team player. Fellow former Wildcat Jerryd Bayless has been sidelined for the rest of the season. He just had surgery on his wrist leaving more playing time for McConnell and others at point guard. McConnell is a bargain at $874,636 this season.
The Sixers were losing a lot of games until this move was made. So about 13 games ago his head Coach Brett Brown put him in the starting line-up.
One huge highlight in the last few weeks was his game-winning basket over Carmelo Anthony at the buzzer.
What makes McConnell so valuable as a starter is that he is not only a leader, he plays with a ton of heart, is a floor general as Sean Miller often called him, and he is an assist machine.
Even without touted rookie Joel Embiid for two games, the McConnell-led Sixers are 10-3 with him as the starter, adversely, the 76ers are 7-24 with T.J. coming off the bench.
Bob Cooney, Philly.com, attributes the Sixers recent success to a number of things, but T.J. is one of them. He calls him ‘the orchestrator’:
"T.J. McConnell has been the orchestrator of an offense that has been mind-bogglingly good lately. The team threw up 72 points in the first half Wednesday, its highest point total for a 24-minute stretch this season. Over his past five games, McConnell has accounted for 47 assists and only 12 turnovers, including 13 assists Wednesday as the Sixers won for the 10th time in 13 games, 114-109 over the Bucks."
His coach Brett Brown believes so much in his starting point guard, he and no wonder, “We are 9-2 with him as a starter,” he said according to ESPN (AP), “T.J. McConnell should be in that game.”
McConnell’s teammate Joel Embiid also gave credit to T.J.:
Embiid called McConnell Sixers' MVP of 10-3 stretch. Said ball movement finally starting to resemble Spurs vision Brown brought to team.
— brianseltzer (@brianseltzer) January 27, 2017
T.J. is constantly the subject of the Sixers Stats account.
With 11 assists tonight, @TJMcConnell has registered 10+ assists in three straight games for the first time in his career.
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) January 26, 2017
TJ McConnell has 23 assists and only 4 turnovers in the last two games pic.twitter.com/QP7IvNC2dS
— Sixers Nation (@PHLSixersNation) January 26, 2017
Now that T.J. is starting, he is getting interviews and being quoted.
"We fight every day as hard as we can for our job like it’s our life" @TJMcConnell on #Sixers Robert Covington https://t.co/g1X1XWEOeg pic.twitter.com/8bjfwL3GKC
— Ian Thomsen (@IanThomsen) January 19, 2017
"We continue to stick together." - T. J. McConnell chats with @MSullivanFrench right after the big win. pic.twitter.com/ZZOLCG7HiK
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 19, 2017
McConnell is such a positive player on the court, and he makes sure he high fives his teammates, and the opposing coach sometimes.
https://twitter.com/Sixers/status/824683704412938240
Must Read: Sean Miller still Recruiting hard for Arizona Basketball in 2017
Will the Sixers make the playoffs before Luke Walton’s Lakers? Possibly, but it won’t happen without whatever special mojo T.J. McConnell brings to the team. Bear Down T.J.!