Megan and T.J. McConnell’s dad is the proudest dad right now

Tim McConnell is riding high.

He’s a long-time high school head coach from a Pittsburgh-area basketball family, and two of his children recently hit major milestones in their professional basketball careers so far.

Megan McConnell recently made her WNBA debut with the Phoenix Mercury, a significant moment even though she suffered a knee injury shortly after stepping onto the pro court.

THIS MOMENT WITH T.J. MCCONNELL'S DAD 🥹

"I can't be more proud to say I have a son in the NBA and a daughter in the WNBA… this is a dream come true." pic.twitter.com/1ef0WiI8vj

— NBA (@NBA) June 20, 2025

T.J. McConnell has proven himself more and more valuable off the bench in the Indiana Pacers’ NBA Finals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Arizona Wildcat product posted 18 points Monday in Indiana’s Game 5 loss before putting up a 12-point, nine-rebound, six-assist, four-steal performance in Game 6 on Thursday night.

T.J. McConnell 12-9-6-4 pic.twitter.com/DF8bIzS8Zi

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) June 20, 2025

The latter earned T.J. an invite to NBA TV’s postgame show, and that’s where his father — beaming — stole the show when he was invited to join the interview.

“Unbelievable,” T.J. said as the hosts asked Tim how he’d judge his son’s game.

“Excellent. Just disappointed he missed two foul shots in the beginning … but he recovered and we won the game,” Tim said of T.J. “I can forget about the foul shots, anything can happen in Game 7. We’re going to OKC to try to win a world championship. My son’s a part of it, and I can’t believe that.”

Why was Tim harder on T.J. compared to Megan, host Isiah Thomas asked Tim, who coached both of his kids at Chartiers Valley High School.

“He says that, but that’s a lie,” Tim answered. “My daughter was on an undefeated state championship (team). He lost in the state championship — we lost two games. He didn’t play as well in the state championship — he played great but we didn’t win it. … Now she’s with the Mercury.

“So I couldn’t be more proud to say I have a son in the NBA and I have a daughter in the WNBA. This is a dream come true.”

Related

TJ McConnell rocks Mercury sister Megan's jersey before Game 1 of NBA FinalsThunder-Pacers NBA Finals to pit ASU's Dort against Arizona's McConnell, MathurinPhoenix Mercury’s Kahleah Copper named 2026 WNBA All-Star injury replacementAlyssa Thomas records first triple-double of season as Mercury top SparksDeWanna Bonner scores season-high 21 points as Mercury beat Sun to snap 5-game skidMercury unable to overcome rough 2nd quarter in loss vs. Sun