Robert Covington Surpasses Thad Young With Defensive Stat on 76ers

Since making his return to the Philadelphia 76ers, Robert Covington has brought his usual stellar defensive play to Nick Nurse’s system and reminded the organization he’s still super productive on that end of the floor, mirroring what he brought to the table in Philly before they traded him away in 2018.

On Friday night against the Boston Celtics, Covington continued building on his Philadelphia legacy by surpassing two former 76ers with another five-steal performance.

Moving up the list, Covington now has seven five-steal games as a member of the Sixers. He breaks a three-way tie between Hall of Famer George McGinnis and Toronto Raptors veteran Thad Young.

Covington had quite the night on Friday in Boston. Although he came off the bench for a shorthanded Sixers team, he collected 30 minutes of action. Offensively, Covington produced 18 points, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc and going a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe.

Defensively, Covington came down with five rebounds, blocked one shot, and snatched five steals in the Sixers’ tight loss against the Celtics. Friday was Covington’s 14th five-steal game of his career.

Since landing back on the Sixers via trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, Covington has averaged 1.4 steals per game, which places him tied for 14th in the NBA in that category. Last season, that number was down to 0.8 during his 48-game stretch with the Clippers. 

Since joining the Sixers, Covington has dominated in the steals and deflections department. Overall, he’s tied for 11th in the NBA with 29 total steals, leading the Sixers in that category. According to Cleaning the Glass, Covington has snatched a steal on 3.2 percent of plays in 274 minutes of action, which ranks in the 100th percentile for forwards.

The veteran forward can continue moving up the 76ers’ steals leaderboard this season. Currently, he’s in line to surpass Doug Collins in the 13th spot with 518 steals. Covington needs six to surpass him before he chases Clarence Weatherspoon’s spot.