Robert Covington Wrapping Up Strong Season For Sixers
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- The 76ers will close the curtain on their 2014-15 season tonight as they host the Miami Heat.
Philadelphia brings an 18-63 record into its season finale, but this season was never really about wins and losses. It was really about developing young players with the hope that they can be long-term contributors as the team's rebuilding accelerates here in the near future.
One of the players that has really taken advantage of his opportunity is 24-year-old Robert Covington. The 6'9" forward out of Tennessee State is averaging 13.4 points a game this season while shooting 38% from three.
"It's definitely been a great opportunity for me because I've been able to play significant minutes and show my impact on the game," Covington told KYW Newsradio prior to Wednesday's loss to Milwaukee. "Going against all types of players and showing what people had doubts about, it's just been a great thing for me. Not just me, all these other players here, everyone has been given the opportunity to really showcase what they can do and a lot of guys have prospered in it."
Listen to the entire interview with Sixers forward Robert Covington
Covington got a taste of the NBA last season, playing seven games for Houston. He spent most of the campaign in D-League where he excelled. Houston waived Covington this past October and it looked like he would be heading back to the D-League after being the #1 pick in their draft, but the Sixers signed him in mid-November and he hasn't looked back.
"Had a lot of fun here," Covington says. "Coach (Brett Brown) has been doing a great job with us as a team. We go at it every night playing hard as a team and these guys have shown a lot of resilience even though the wins and losses don't add up. That doesn't determine the type of team that we are. We play hard each and every night, it's unfortunate we come up on the short end sometimes but these guys have been doing a great job all season of fighting, playing hard and never giving up, no matter what."
And Covington says his game has improved with his consistent playing time.
"It's grown a lot," Covington says. "It's developed a lot. Coach has helped me, all our assistant coaches have helped me, teammates made me better."
Covington and the Sixers will tipoff with the Heat tonight at 8:00 at the Center.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
