NBA center: T.J. McConnell is the most underrated player in the league

By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It's not often that the lesser known players get a little love from their peers. Recently, Sixers point guard T.J. McConnell got a a pretty large compliment from an anonymous Eastern Conference center, who shared who his most underrated player in the NBA is on HoopsHype.

“The most underrated player in the NBA is TJ McConnell from the Sixers. If you just look at his stats, they’re never going to jump out at you, but that little f***er is tough. He’s a tough kid. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, I’ll just screen this little white boy and lay him out,’ but he fights through every screen. He’s gritty and he doesn’t back down from anyone. It’s hard being a point guard in today’s NBA because you’re going against a star most nights, but he holds his own. He demands respect every single night. If you don’t respect him entering the game, you’ll respect him by the second half.”

In the last season alone, T.J. McConnell has really outplayed himself in almost every single category.

Things that were previously thought of as a weakness for McConnell have turned into strengths in many areas. It's quite obvious that McConnell isn't the player he was just two seasons ago.

Related: How did he get here? The Curious Case of T.J. McConnell

Players around the league were asked in this article who they thought were the most underrated players and guys like Bradley Beal and C.J. McCollum popped up on there.

The fact that McConnell is being categorized in the "underrated" category with some of these key starters is absolutely mind-boggling.

The role of McConnell going forward is unclear, especially with the additions of Markelle Fultz and J.J. Redick, and the return of Jerryd Bayless to play back-up point guard.

However, if McConnell continues to work like he has already shown he has been, then the possibilities are endless for the 25-year-old.

To take one major thing out of all of this, McConnell's work and improvement hasn't gone unnoticed, and the potential of him getting even better is definitely there.

T.J. is definitely on the right track.

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