After a rough 2019-20 season, Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris has begun a redemption campaign. He’s off to a great start for the Sixers.
The 2019-20 Philadelphia 76ers were a team in great need of redemption going into this offseason. They replaced their head coach, firing Brett Brown and hiring Doc Rivers. They hired Daryl Morey to run basketball operations, and Morey wasted no time making moves to modernize the roster. Tobias Harris is a returning player for the Sixers who has clearly benefited from these changes, and he wasted no time taking advantage.
Thanks to a great week of play, Harris was rewarded with recognition as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, along with Stephen Curry winning the Western Conference variant of the award.
Harris put up some blistering numbers. He averaged 23.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in their 3-0 week featuring wins over the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets. Harris shot 57.1 percent from the floor and 56.3 percent from 3-point range and has been a lethal complement to Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid on this re-worked roster.
Last season, the narrative was that the Sixers possessed two of the NBA’s worst contracts between Harris and Al Horford. One of Morey’s first moves was to trade Horford to the OKC Thunder for Danny Green, and Harris has flourished with the new lease on life in Philadelphia, as well as getting to play with his former LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers.
So far this season Harris has been absolutely fantastic on both ends of the floor. He’s averaging 18.8 points and his 8.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists would be career highs if they hold over the course of the season. Just as importantly, his 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals are also career highs, and his defense has been at the best level of his entire career thus far.
Tobias Harris came into the season with public perception trending down, but he has a fantastic opportunity to maintain this high level of play as his 5-1 Sixers continue to surprise.