VIDEO: Joel Embiid Shows Love to TJ McConnell by Choking Him After 76ers-Pacers
Some friendships last forever. Following Saturday night's matchup with the Indiana Pacers, 76ers big man Joel Embiid engaged in a playful strangling session with his former teammate T.J McConnell, showing the kid exactly how much he still means in Philly.
McConnell spent the first four years of his career with Philadelphia, where he was a pivotal part of the team's ascension in the wake of the Sam Hinkie era (the most ambitious tank of all time). An undrafted player out of Arizona, McConnell rose from a scrappy benchwarmer to a serviceable sixth man. Often, McConnell was deployed as the lead guard for the offense when he was on the court, taking some of the play-making pressure away from Ben Simmons.
Despite leaving for greener pastures (Indiana is a much lusher landscape than South Philly), McConnell has been received well by the Philadelphia faithful, thanks to his contributions during his time with the team. Judging from the playful choking, Joel Embiid appears to have missed him as much as anybody.