Pittsburgh Native Shines in NBA Finals

Pittsburgh’s own T.J. McConnell turned in an elite performance in Wednesday night’s NBA Finals Game Three win for the Indiana Pacers.

McConnell played just 15 minutes in the comeback win for the Pacers, but made his presence known from the moment he stepped on the court. He went 3 for 8 from the field, and made all four of his free throws. McConnell finished with 10 points, five assists, five steals, and one offensive rebound. In fact, according to the Pacers, McConnell became the first player in NBA history to record more than five steals and more than five assists in an NBA finals game off the bench.

Out of high school, McConnell spent two seasons at Duquesne, averaging 11.1 points, 4.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game over two seasons before transferring to Arizona after two seasons.

After sitting out the 2012-13 season, he averaged 9.4 points, 5.8 assists and 3.7 assists, on 48/34/74 shooting splits, across the next two seasons at Arizona. McConnell went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft. McConnell finished seventh in NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting in the 2024 season (his ninth NBA season), as a key piece for the Pacers of the bench. He averaged a career-high 10.2 points, 5.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds on 56/41/79 shooting splits that year, as the Pacers made a deep run in the playoffs but came up short in the end.

McConnell’s younger sister, Megan, made headlines this past week as she earned her first WNBA contract with the Phoenix Mercury. She made her debut earlier this week with the Mercury, making a three pointer and dishing out three assists to her teammates in the loss. However, McConnell left the game due to injury. She is currently recovering from the injury and will be out for several weeks. McConnell was shown on the ABC telecast on Wednesday night, supporting her brother at the game.