Robert Covington Contract Option Exercised by Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers announced Wednesday that they picked up the $1.5 million team option in forward Robert Covington's contract for the 2017-18 season. 

The move is a no-brainer for the Sixers, who have watched Covington develop into one of the league's more underrated three-and-D players over the past few seasons. 

In 67 appearances—all of which were starts—a season ago, Covington averaged 12.9 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 39.9 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three. 

And while those shooting splits are a tad underwhelming, it should be noted Covington came on strong after the All-Star break and made 34.8 percent of his threes—a mark that compared favorably to his pre-All-Star conversion rate of 32.7 percent. 

But for Covington, the 2016-17 season all came down to defense. 

An ace on the wing who finished fourth in the NBA with 1.9 steals a night, the 26-year-old thrived despite squaring off against opponents' top scorers on a nightly basis. 

To put Covington's defensive impact in perspective, consider the following: When he was on the floor, the Sixers allowed a stellar 103.3 points per 100 possessions—a mark that would have been good for No. 5 overall for the entire season. 

But when Covington was on the bench, the Sixers surrendered 109.9 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com's lineup data. That mark, by comparison, would have ranked among the league's three worst along with the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers. 

"Bruce Bowen would guard LaMarcus Aldridge down to [Allen Iverson] to [Carmelo Anthony] and so on—Dirk [Nowitzki]—he just was like a band-aid," Sixers head coach Brett Brown said, according to Sports Illustrated's Jake Fischer. "Robert for me, for us, is that."

If Covington can sustain that intensity on defense next season, he should be in line for a nice raise from the Sixers—or a competing club—in the summer of 2018. 

As things stand, Covington is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent once the 2017-18 campaign comes to a close.