Philadelphia 76ers: Who is the team’s third-best player?

Tobias Harris

If you’ve watched the 76ers play before this season was suspended, and if you look closely at the numbers, it’s easy to see that Tobias Harris is the third-best player on the team. A versatile offensive threat coming off the wing, Harris can hit defenders with an array of moves and scores from different levels of the court.

Since arriving in Philadelphia via trade from the LA Clippers last season, Tobias Harris has been one of the most consistent players for the 76ers. In the 92 regular-season games since his arrival, Harris has averaged 19.0 points, 7.1 boards, 3.1 assists per game with .471/.351/.817 shooting splits

Again, for argument’s sake, we are going to solely focus on the 2019-2020 season and try not to place much emphasis on past seasons.

Tobias Harris is averaging 19.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game in his first full season in the city of brotherly love, after signing a five-year $180 million max contract to remain with the 76ers this past offseason.

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1217823826681028608?s=20

As seen in the clip above: Harris can score out of the post, knock down the three-ball, and attack defenders off the dribble. If you give him too much space he will shoot, if you close out too fast he will use his quick first step to drive past you, and he has no issue setting up in the low post and playing old-school physical basketball.

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He’s the only starter on the Sixers to shoot at least 45 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the charity stripe, posting .472/.362/.806 shooting splits this year.

Playing for a Philadelphia 76ers team that desperately needs outside shooting and sorely misses J.J. Redick; Furkan Korkmaz & Harris has been a revelation shooting 43.4 percent and 37.9% respectively on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers while attempting at least 3.7 per game.

For the 2019-2020 season, Harris ranks second on the team in scoring, third in assists, and fourth in rebounds per game. He also ranks second in free throw percentage (among players with at least 50 attempts) and third in 3-point percentage (among players with at least 100 attempts). Harris’ PER of 16.8 is good for third on the team, and his 5.6 win shares tie him with Embiid for second on the team behind Ben Simmons’ 7.0.

Not known for his defense, it’s also worth noting that Tobias Harris’s 2.6 defensive win shares is good for second on the team. Allow me to try to put that into context for you, Paul George (an elite defender) has a defensive win shares of 2.0 on the season.

He may not create much for others, but Harris is an unselfish player and willing passer. Very selective and methodical on offense, he rarely forces up a bad shot, and he’s the one player on the team other than Embiid and Simmons, who doesn’t need others to create for him to be effective on offense.

While he may not be the All-Star player that Embiid and Simmons are or Horford once was, but he’s a solid role player who continues to improve his overall game year in and year out. If the Sixers can add one or two more shooters, and Simmons finally develop a reliable jump shot, Harris can be the third-wheel Philly needs to get over the hump and into title town.