T.J. McConnell made his career ‘outplaying people’ and living with no regrets. But should the Sixers regret letting him go?

The 76ers let a valuable player walk in 2019, and the decision continues to haunt them years later.

On Wednesday, the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks will play Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at Madison Square Garden. The Pacers are led by two-time All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is averaging 17.5 points, 9.3 assists, and 5.5 rebounds this postseason.

The Pacers’ perimeter defense, which is anchored by reserve point guard T.J. McConnell, will play a pivotal role in their efforts to shut down former Villanova star Jalen Brunson.

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McConnell being tasked with such a lofty defensive assignment is a testament to his tenacity. His ability to disrupt the team’s offensive flow and take elite scorers out of their games has been crucial in the Pacers’ playoff series victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks.

“T.J. McConnell is an annoying little [expletive] that just runs around, causes chaos, picks up 94 feet, someone that plays the game of basketball extremely at a high level, competitive as hell,” Knicks forward Josh Hart previously said of the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder. “So we know once Tyrese goes [to the bench], it’s not like we can sit there and relax. You‘ve got someone in T.J. who could be a starting point guard for any other team in this league.”

McConnell’s impactful play has helped the Pacers get within four wins of the NBA Finals, a development that brings renewed scrutiny to the Sixers’ decision to let him walk.

Since his departure, the team hasn’t had a reserve point guard consistently match McConnell’s energy and two-way production.

But even though he provided a steady presence in four seasons, re-signing McConnell wasn’t a priority for the Sixers coming off a second-round series loss to the Toronto Raptors in 2019.

So the Pacers snapped him up with a two-year, $7 million contract on July 29, 2019. McConnell signed a four-year, $33.6 million deal on Aug. 6, 2021, before receiving a four-year, $44.8 million extension on Sept. 3, 2024. That deal has a club option for $11.8 million for the 2028-29 season.

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Being in position to receive career earnings of $89.8 million is a major accomplishment for an undrafted player who entered the Sixers’ training camp in 2015 as the fifth-string point guard.

“I genuinely believe that playing hard is a skill, because if it wasn’t, everyone would do it,” McConnell said on The Young Man and the Three podcast. “And when I came in, I’m trying to tell you about this guy, [former Sixers assistant coach] Chris Babcock. He’s like, ‘You need to stand out.’ He’s like, ‘Nobody picks up full court, and you need to make that your calling card.’”

Babcock worked out McConnell three times a day to get him in elite shape. Those workouts enabled him to pick up opponents full court.

“It’s something that I created an identity about,” he said. “And if you play really hard and make life hell for the other team, the other stuff, like the offense, that [expletive] will fall into place. But if you‘re going and playing to exhaustion every time you are out there, like I said, it just gives you a chance to make a roster and get more minutes.

“I feel like I’ve made a 10-year NBA career on just outplaying people. You have to have skill, obviously, but just making life really difficult on both ends.”

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While overshadowed by star players, McConnell was a key part of the Sixers’ rotation. He helped the team transform from one of the worst squads in NBA history into a legitimate contender.

And McConnell has been just as impactful for the Pacers.

He has averaged 8.6 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.1 steals during his six seasons with the franchise. The 32-year-old finished seventh in sixth man of the year voting in the 2023-24 season after averaging a career-high 10.2 points.

The 9.1 points he averaged this season marked the second-highest scoring average of his career. McConnell is averaging 8.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists while logging 16.6 minutes a game this postseason.

“It’s kind of one of those things where I felt like I went out there and earned what I’ve gotten and just put my head down and gone to work and let the chips fall,” McConnell said of what he’s most proud. “And kind of not have any regrets with it.”

But you have to wonder if the Sixers regret not re-signing him.