Sixers pick-up T.J. McConnell’s option for 2018-19 season

By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Shortly after news broke about Richaun Holmes getting his team option picked up for next season, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that they would also be exercising T.J. McConnell's option. 

McConnell's story is a good one and he dove into it during an episode of JJ Redick's podcast in February. T.J. was the last invite to the 2015 NBA Draft Combine. While studying for finals in his senior year at Arizona, he got a call from his agent that he had to pay his way to Chicago for the combine. In case someone dropped out, he was going to get a chance. Luckily for McConnell, someone dropped out and he got an opportunity to show NBA teams what he was made of at that time. While most prospects met with multiple teams for nearly 2-3 hours, McConnell met with just one team – the Atlanta Hawks. His name wasn't called on draft night, but just a few hours after the conclusion of the draft, McConnell got a call from Sam Hinkie and Brett Brown. The rest is history.

"It's hard to put into words, really, to go from 10 wins to where we're at right now," said McConnell. "You gotta give credit to everyone that's been involved in the front office, the players that have played here and the players we have now. "

In 238 games for the Sixers, McConnell has averaged 6.4 points, 5.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds in just under 23 minutes per game. T.J. started his first career playoff game during the Eastern Conference Semifinals and scored 19 points in that game, the only one Philadelphia won against Boston. In February, McConnell became the first Sixers player to ever notch a triple-double off the bench, posting 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists against the Knicks. The celebration from his teammates showed how respected he is in the locker room and his style of play has made him one of the most loved Process players we've seen in Philadelphia.