Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris made the headlines on Tuesday, not because of some massive achievement, but because he did not get selected as a reserve for the NBA All-Star Game. This upset legions of Sixers fans as well as his father Torrell Harris who also happens to be his agent.
The older Harris said his son deserves to be an All-Star because of his stellar performance in relation to the Sixers' standings (via Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
“An All-Star is for players who are consistent and play each game at the highest level, with not taking off games. Tobias has helped lead his team to be in 1st place. It's very disappointing that Tobias was not selected.”
Entering their game against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, Harris has been averaging 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. He's also shooting a career-best 51.8 percent from the field, 40.3 percent from deep, and 89.4 percent from the free throw line.
His performance has greatly helped the Sixers take the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 21-11 record. While casual fans credit Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid as the main fuel of the Sixers engine, real fans see Harris as a major key to their success.
Harris is clearly having the best campaign of his career. He was somehow an NBA journeyman early on, starting out as a role player. But something occurred in the 2017-18 season when he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers as he was suddenly heralded as among the top shooters in the NBA. And it wasn't only a one-time thing as Harris has remained consistent since then.
But since joining the Sixers, Tobias Harris has even become more valuable, as the team signed him to a massive five-year, $180 million contract in 2019.
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