Robert Covington

High school career

Covington attended Proviso West High School in Hillside, Illinois. As a senior in 2008–09, he averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks per game as he was named the West Suburban Conference Player of the Year after leading Proviso West to the West Suburban Championship. He was also an All-Area and All-Conference first-team honoree.

College career

In his freshman season at Tennessee State, Covington was named to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Newcomer team and earned Mid-Major Freshman All-America honors from Collegeinsider.com. In 32 games (28 starts), he averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 27.3 minutes per game.

In his sophomore season, Covington recorded eight double-doubles and was named OVC Player of the Week on December 27, 2010. He led the team in rebounds (7.5 rpg), field goal percentage (.500) and three-point field goal percentage (.460). He also led the OVC with his 46% three-point shooting as he earned second-team All-OVC and second-team NABC Division I All-District 19 honors. In 30 games (all starts), he averaged 13.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in 30.8 minutes per game.

In his junior season, Covington earned first-team All-OVC and first-team NABC Division I All-District 19 honors, and was named the 2011–12 CollegeInsider.com OVC co-MVP. He also earned OVC All-Tournament team and Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational All-Tournament team honors. At the season's end, he had 1,358 points and 693 rebounds, ranking for 16th and 13th in school history respectively. In 33 games (32 starts), he averaged 17.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks in 31.2 minutes per game.

In his senior season, Covington earned second-team All-OVC and second-team NABC Division I All-District 19 honors for the second time in his career despite missing ten games due to injury. In 23 games (22 starts), he averaged 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocks in 31.0 minutes per game. He finished his career ranked seventh on Tennessee State's all-time list in both scoring and rebounding, with 1,749 points and 876 rebounds.

Houston Rockets (2013–2014)

After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Covington joined the Houston Rockets for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On July 15, 2013, he signed a multi-year deal with the Rockets. On January 18, 2014, he made his NBA debut, playing a total of 54 seconds. During his rookie season, he had multiple assignments with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League.

On February 3, 2014, Covington was named to the Prospects All-Star roster for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game. On April 19, 2014, he was named the NBA D-League Rookie of the Year.

In July 2014, Covington re-joined the Rockets for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On October 27, 2014, he was waived by the Rockets.

Philadelphia 76ers (2014–present)

On November 1, 2014, Covington was selected with the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA Development League Draft by the Grand Rapids Drive. On November 15, 2014, he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers before playing in a game for Grand Rapids. Two days later, he made his debut for the 76ers in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. In just under 17 minutes of action, he recorded six points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. On December 6, 2014, he scored a then career-high 25 points in a 108–101 overtime win over the Detroit Pistons. On February 2, 2015, he recorded a then career-high seven steals in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He had a second 25-point effort on March 25, 2015 against the Denver Nuggets. On April 8, 2015, he set a new career high with 27 points in a loss to the Washington Wizards.

For the 2015–16 season, Covington retained the starting small forward spot on the 76ers' roster. On November 27, 2015, he recorded career highs of 28 points and eight steals in a 116–114 loss to the Houston Rockets, marking the 76ers' 17th straight loss to the start the season. On December 1, 2015, he scored a game-high 23 points to help the 76ers defeat the Los Angeles Lakers and end a 28-game losing streak that began on March 27, 2015, during the 2014–15 season. On February 10, 2016, he scored a career-high 29 points and hit a career-high seven three-pointers in a loss to the Sacramento Kings. He set a new career high for scoring on April 8 with 30 points against the New York Knicks. On April 12, in a loss to the Toronto Raptors, Covington had his seventh game of the season with six or more three-pointers, joining Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and J. R. Smith as the only players to do so in 2015–16. In the team's season finale the following day, Covington scored 27 points and again hit six three-pointers in a 115–105 loss to the Chicago Bulls, as the 76ers finished the year with a 10–72 win/loss record.

On December 14, 2016, Covington had season highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds in a 123–114 loss to the Toronto Raptors. On January 20, 2017, he scored 22 points and made two three-pointers in the final 40 seconds to lead the 76ers to a come-from-behind 93–92 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. On January 29, 2017, he scored 21 points and tied his season high of 12 rebounds in a 121–108 loss to the Chicago Bulls. On March 31, 2017, he was ruled out for the rest of the season with right knee soreness and swelling.

Personal life

Covington is the son of Dennis and Teresa Bryant.