Would be remiss if we didn’t give T.J. McConnell a shout out for his performance during the Pacers/Knicks series. He came off the bench seven times to average 12 points, six assists, two rebounds, and a steal, and shot 50% or better in 5 of the 7 outings. There was also this backbreaker of a sequence:

That’s the most McConnell play of all time.

You’re happy for the guy while at the same time scratching your head and asking how T.J. made a conference final before Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and any number of Process-era players. No, he’s not a starter in 2024, nor was he at any point during his NBA career outside of 2016, but there were so many guys that we thought were legitimate bench pieces and ended up flaming out.

Just looking through the list, have the following Sixers been to a conference final? –

  • Embiid – no
  • Simmons – no
  • Fultz – no
  • Robert Covington – no
  • Dario Saric – yes, with Phoenix
  • Jahlil Okafor – no
  • JaKarr Sampson – no
  • Jerami Grant – yes, with Denver
  • Michael Carter-Williams – no
  • Nerlens Noel – no
  • Ish Smith – no (EDIT – technically, Ish won a ring with Denver last year, but he did not play in the conference finals or NBA finals)
  • JaVale McGee – yes, but only played 6 games here, not counting him
  • Isaiah Canaan – no
  • Hollis Thompson – no
  • Richaun Holmes – no
  • Nik Stauskas – technically yes, was a bench warmer for the Celtics in his final season
  • Tony Wroten – no
  • Christian Wood – no
  • Justin Anderson – no
  • Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot – no
  • Furkan Korkmaz – no
  • Demetrius Jackson – no

That’s basically the crop of guys who came through Philly during McConnell’s tenure. There are fringe additions, like Haywood Highsmith, who played 5 games here before going overseas and then coming back to play on the Miami team that went to the finals. Other candidates are Ersan Ilyasova-esque, veterans who came in during the tail end of the Process and/or beginning of the Colangelo era but didn’t start their careers in Philly during the rebuild.


That’s it, though. T.J. got to the ECF before all but three guys from the Process era. Do we laugh or cry?