The leap. It’s that mythical transformation players undergo when they turn from rotation guys to key role players, role players to stars or stars to superstars. It’s vague and imperfectly defined, but we know it when we see it. Kristaps Porzingis, Victor Oladipo and Jaylen Brown have all made the leap this season. They’ve taken on more responsibilities, elevated their play and become far more important to their respective franchises.

Robert Covington appears to have made the leap, too. And just in time to sign a lucrative, yet team-friendly, four-year, $62 million contract extension.

Covington is scoring 15.9 points per game on 48.0 percent shooting from the field this season, up from 12.9 on 39.9 percent last year. His advanced numbers are up across the board, and the Philadelphia 76ers are a staggering 21.5 points per 100 possessions better with the forward on the court than when he sits.

But RoCo isn’t really doing more this season; he’s actually doing a bit less. A lofty 83.6 percent of Covington’s field goals have come without any dribbles beforehand, compared to 70.9 percent last season. His usage rate has also fallen for the fourth straight year. If the season ended today, he’d be one of just 20 players in NBA history to post at least 15.5 points per game on a usage rate below 18.5 percent.

The real driver behind Covington’s rapid ascendance up the NBA wing hierarchy hasn’t been an increase in responsibility, but rather an spike in efficiency:

Per 36 Minutes Table Season FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% 2P 2PA 2P% PTS 2016-17 5.0 12.4 .399 2.3 7.0 .333 2.6 5.4 .484 14.7 2017-18 6.2 12.8 .480 3.9 8.4 .462 2.3 4.5 .514 18.3 View Original Table Provided by Basketball-Reference.com

Covington is hot to the touch from beyond the arc, from where nearly two-thirds of his field goals come. And when defenders crowd out passing lanes to the perimeter, the 26-year-old has an instinctive cutting game that yields oodles of easy finishes. Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey probably has Covington’s shot chart—a collage of threes, layups and more threes—framed in his living room.

That kind of low-usage offense is perfect for the Sixers, who already have two ball-dominant stars. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are special, potentially generational talents, and their presences on Philadelphia’s roster dictates nearly every decision the franchise’s front office will make for the next decade.

Covington’s contract extension is the latest example of Simmons and Embiid’s significance within the organization. When the star duo shares the court with this forward, Philadelphia outscores opponents by 18.6 points per 100 possessions. The 11-7 Sixers are ready to win sooner rather than later, and their newly extended sharpshooter fits snugly into that vision.

Simmons is a non-shooting playmaker who needs the ball in his hands to thrive. Embiid, meanwhile, posts up more than anyone in the NBA. These guys are enormous, athletic and impossible to stop one-on-one. Players like them can thrive without space. Give them space, and you’re toast.

Enter Lord Covington.

Defenders know he’ll hoist if he gets even a glimmer of daylight, so they stay tight to him at all times. The guy wasn’t even a league-average shooter last season—he splashed just 33.3 percent of his triples—but the mere threat of a shot can spook defenders out of their help responsibilities, especially in a league hell-bent on preventing three-point attempts.

Ricky Rubio is one of the league’s premier thieves, but here, with Covington at the hash, the Spaniard barely worries about Simmons slicing into the paint. Covington often stands several feet beyond the arc when the Sixers run a Simmons pick-and-roll or an Embiid post-up, and his gravitational pull lulls defenders to sleep.

Against an average shooter, Shaun Livingston will recognize this double-team on Embiid and sag into the paint. Against this assassin, forget about it.

This ability to affect the game without the ball is Covington’s calling card on offense. But Sixers coach Brett Brown has also explored using the fifth-year man within primary actions to diversify the team’s offensive arsenal.

Coaches can leverage shooting in all kinds of ways, and not many players can shoot like Covington.

You don’t get the three-and-D label without some defensive ability, though, and Covington has built up a sterling reputation as a multi-positional stopper. Philadelphia allows just 99.6 points per 100 possessions with him in the game, which would’ve paced the league last season. He’s once again near the top of the league in deflections, ranking second with 4.1 per 36 minutes. And his 1.9 steals per 36 minutes are right in line with his career numbers.

This 6’9” pterodactyl of a small forward’s height allows him to cheat off shooters an extra step and still recover in time. If a ball-handler puts his head down or throws a blind pass, Covington is right there to make a play on the ball.

He’s not a quick-twitch athlete, so explosive players can occasionally give him trouble on the ball. He also averages 4.1 fouls per 36 minutes—far too high a number.

But, again, his off-ball excellence is ideal for the Sixers. Embiid and Simmons are both cat quick for their size, and Philadelphia should eventually become a switch-heavy machine on defense. That transition will help Covington, who can use his size against bigs and avoid chasing ball-handlers around picks.

Embiid is also one of the most fearsome rim-protectors in the game, and Philadelphia’s perimeter defenders can afford to take more risks knowing they have a 7’1” security blanket behind them. The Sixers need long, instinctual players just like Covington to jump passing lanes and swarm opponents.

In hindsight, the fact Philadelphia ended up with a player who meshes so perfectly with the franchise’s stars is bizarre. Covington went undrafted out of Tennessee State in 2013, latching on with the Sixers in 2014 only because they were a D-League-level team actively trying to accumulate losses.

The dude was supposed to be a casualty of The Process, not a part of it.

He found his niche, though. Teams usually need to go out and find role guys to complement their superstars, whereas the Sixers’ three-and-D dynamo is also their longest-tenured player. Covington has his limitations, and he won’t ever make the leap to stardom, but he’s built himself into an invaluable player by mastering his role.

Every team needs a Robert Covington. The Sixers are fortunate enough to have the real thing.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from NBA Math, Basketball Reference or NBA.com and are accurate heading into games on Nov. 26.