T.J. McConnell

Eyeing their chance to end a decade-long series win drought and advance to the Eastern Conference’s second round, the Indiana Pacers, poetically, received their jolt of energy from a familiar place: the second unit. Eight minutes away from helping Indiana stamp its ticket with a historic, series-clinching victory, T.J. McConnell reminds the Milwaukee Bucks of where the NBA’s highest-scoring bench resides, hunting down a favorable matchup with a pick-and-roll switch. Recognizing his speed advantage against the much larger Bobby Portis, the fearless floor general unleashes his signature move, pirouetting into a rapid-fire spin move down the right baseline, furnishing himself with just enough space to pivot back into his patented fallaway jumper. Among the NBA’s elite producers among reserves year-after-year, McConnell’s Game Six performance allowed those traits to shine on the brightest stage, with the Pacers winning the bench scoring battle in 50-10 fashion during the win on May 2, 2024. A catalyst along the way, McConnell packed quite the per-minute punch — 20 points in 23 minutes of play — along with two boards, nine assists, four steals, a +22 plus-minus, and a pair of triples.