Former Tennessee State men’s basketball star Robert Covington is excelling on basketball’s biggest stage as a starter for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.

After battling injury early in the season, the 6’9, 215-pound forward is averaging 14.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while leading the NBA with 3.2 steals per game. Now in his second season with the 76ers, Covington netted a career-high 28 points to go with a career-best eight steals on Nov. 28 versus the Houston Rockets.

In the 76ers final three games in November, Covington secured six-plus steals, making him the first NBA player to accomplish the feat in three-consecutive games since Alvin Robertson in 1986.

A 2013 graduate of Tennessee State University, Covington split time between the NBA’s Houston Rockets and the NBA D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers in his first season as a professional in 2013-14. The Illinois native played his way to NBA D-League Rookie of the Year accolades, earning a spot on the 76ers roster the following season.

Covington was a decorated player for the Tigers during his four-year career, securing First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference accolades in 2012 and Second Team All-OVC honors in 2011 and 2013.

Current TSU Head Coach Dana Ford coached the now-NBA player during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons, when Ford served as an assistant coach. Covington scored 1,749 career points for TSU, good for the eighth most in school history.

Covington and the 76ers were back in action Sunday with an away game versus the Toronto Raptors.