Philadelphia 76ers: Sixers pair among NBPA Award winners

A pair of Philadelphia 76ers players were among the award winners released by the National Basketball Players Association.

The National Basketball Players Association, the union in charge of looking after the interests of all NBA players, recently announced their annual award winners encompassing a number of categories.

And a pair of Philadelphia 76ers players were among the recipients.

Center Joel Embiid, who made such a significant impact in his debut season despite playing just 31 games, came away with two separate awards.

His first award was being named the Comeback Player of the Year Award, recognizing the significance of Embiid’s return to floor after being sidelined for the first two years of his career due two recurring foot problems. But in his limited time on the floor last season, Embiid flourished and demonstrated his unlimited potential.

Despite being placed on a minutes restriction, Embiid averaged 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in just 25.4 minutes per game. His impact on the team reached a climax in January, where the Sixers posted a 10-5 record for the month, having won a total of 10 games for the entire 2015-16 season.

Furthermore, Embiid’s outgoing personality and popular presence on social media was also recognized by taking out the Best Social Media Follow award.

Over the course of his debut season, Embiid set Twitter alight with some very humorous tweets on a range of topics. His most recent tweet, which gained over 8,100 retweets and over 30,000 likes, was passing comment on his most recent NBA 2K video game rating:

Another memorable post from Embiid this past season was the following photo taken at the NBA All-Star Weekend with Michael Jordan:

https://twitter.com/JoelEmbiid/status/833166732441317376

The others Sixers player to be recognized by the NBPA was point guard T.J. McConnell. Despite finishing just his second season in the league, McConnell was recognized for his leadership qualities by being named the Teammate of the Year for the Sixers.

Each team was represented by one player for the award, and it’s certainly a feather in the cap for McConnell in recognizing his influence on the team. Undrafted coming out of the University of Arizona, McConnell has developed into a highly respected floor general, averaging 6.9 points and 6.6 assists per game last season. As a starter, these numbers rose to 8.6 points and 7.8 assists per game.

Notably, the Sixers posted a 22-29 record with McConnell as a starter, and just a 6-24 record when he came off the bench.

During the course of last season, head coach Brett Brown heaped praised upon the undersized McConnell:

"‘“He’s a Pennsylvania kid that nobody gave a chance….There’s an injury, so you give him the ball and that’s life. He seized the moment, grabbed the opportunity and he ran hard with it. To see him be rewarded, it’s a great story.”"

So while Embiid and McConnell are poles apart in virtually every aspect, they each have their own unique value to the Sixers, and the league as a whole.

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Considering Embiid’s perseverance through injury, and McConnell’s unheralded status, it was terrific to see both players recognized around the league for their contributions last season.