Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris has been a key team leader, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harris spoke to media during a Zoom webinar on Saturday ahead of Philly’s first practice in the bubble. As the Sixers prepare for the Orlando restart, Harris is making sure he hears and understands his teammates’ thoughts about the league returning.
Both Joel Embiid and Shake Milton expressed reservations about the league’s restart on Tuesday.
“Just try to understand their perspective and just hear them out with an open mind,” Harris said. “Everybody takes this in a different way. You could look at it in many different facets in what’s going on in the world, whether coming out here is safe or not as safe for some guys.”
Harris added that some players have families to consider leaving, along with others being free agents after this season. Each player has a situation to think about, and it’s important to recognize the significance and context of everyone’s concerns.
“Just hear them out, understand them and try to do our best with it,” Harris said. “I think that’s the best thing we can do, but everybody’s going to have their own type of inner feelings about it. And that’s not to say that mine is right or theirs is right, or theirs is wrong or mine is wrong. So just hearing them out.”
Harris shows the mark of true leadership here. A good leader usually has a level-headed manner, and they’re able to understand where other people are coming from.
As the Sixers prepare to play in unprecedented circumstances, they will continue to need Harris’ voice. The Sixers will play their first seeding game Aug. 1 against the Indiana Pacers.
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