‘Amazing to be back’: Robert Covington returns to the Sixers ready to be a leader

Robert Covington couldn’t be more elated about his return to the Sixers.

He looked ecstatic Wednesday while chatting with familiar faces inside the team’s practice facility.

“This is where I put my name on the map,” Covington said. “It feels great to be back. I’ve been in this building when it first opened. Seeing the amount of hours spent into the development here, it’s just amazing to be back.”

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The Sixers officially acquired Covington, Marcus Morris, Nic Batum, Kenyon Martin Jr., and multiple draft picks that morning in exchange for James Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Filip Petrušev in a three-team deal that included the Oklahoma City Thunder. In a separate trade, the Clippers sent Petrušev and cash to the Sacramento Kings.

The 11th-year veteran initially came to the Sixers as a fringe NBA player on Nov. 15, 2014.

Covington then blossomed into one of the team’s leaders. He stretched the floor with his three-point shooting and consistently defended the opposing team’s best perimeter players. Three years after he joined the Sixers, they rewarded him with a four-year, $62 million contract extension.

The Sixers, however, were desperate for a third star to pair with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. And Covington was the best trade asset to acquire one.

So on Nov. 12, 2018, the Sixers acquired All-Star forward Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Covington, Dario Šarić, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2022 second-round pick. He left the organization as an All-Defense performer and ranked second behind Hall of Famer Allen Iverson on the franchise’s career three-pointer list with 707 made three-pointers as a Sixer to Iverson’s 885.

“I’m thankful for the new opportunity under Nick [Nurse] and them,” Covington said. “And this organization has been very special to me. Just for everything to come back in the fold — I don’t know. It’s a new feeling of relief. I’m thankful that I get to come back in and get a second go-around.”

Covington played the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons in Minnesota and had stints with the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers before being traded to the Clippers on Feb. 4, 2022. And for the first time in a while, Covington was no longer a starter.

“It’s just amazing to be back.”

The 6-foot-7 forward started just two of 23 games played as a Clipper during that season. He made 48 appearances without a start last season, averaging just 6.0 points and 16.2 minutes. Both were career lows for a full season since he barely played as an undrafted rookie in Houston during the 2013-14 season.

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With Morris sidelined because of personal reasons, Covington started all three games this season for the Clippers before the trade. He averaged 3.0 points and 2.0 steals in 23.0 minutes in those games.

Covington’s relief comes from getting a new opportunity to play under Nurse.

“Last year was a rough year for me, you know, I’m not playing,” he said. “So that’s the first time. Just coming in where I kind of made my name is a great opportunity for me.”

Covington returns to Philadelphia as a proud girl dad to his 19-month daughter, Harmony. He intends to add a tattoo of her on one of his arms.

Even though his name kept popping up in the trade rumors, Covington’s focus was elsewhere. He told himself, “if it happens, it happens.”

“Honestly, my focus was my daughter,” said Covington, who kept up his offseason workout regime. “I spent [time] in a custody battle for her. That’s where my focus was. She is my world. So once I was able to get through all of that fully was when I was able to truly, just solely focus on all that.”

With the situation regarding his daughter settled, Covington feels he now has clarity.

“I had so much peace of mind,” he said. “I developed that mindset of, like, control what you can control. If you do the right thing, good things will add up.”

And that also speaks for on the court with his return to the Sixers.

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“I think he’s part of Sixers lore,” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said of Covington. “I was amazed he was second in made three-pointers. I just talked to him, and he was like, ‘I’m breaking that record.’”

Covington wants more than breaking Iverson’s record. He wants to provide leadership and do things that don’t show up in the stat sheet.