The NBA is on hold right now with an uncertain future due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and nobody knows when the league can realistically begin to even think about resuming. So, with all of this uncertainty, now is the time to look back at the 2019-20 season.
Philadelphia 76ers rookie Marial Shayok had a solid rookie season where he was ranked as the best player in the G League while with the Delaware Blue Coats. It was one of the more impressive seasons for a guy who was the 54th pick in the 2019 draft.
There is one guy who has really helped Shayok, as well as fellow rookie Matisse Thybulle, make the adjustment to the NBA game and that is veteran Tobias Harris. The veteran out of Tennessee has received a lot of praise from Thybulle in the past, but now Shayok is stepping forward in his praise for Harris.
Cody Taylor, the leading man over at our sister site Rookie Wire, talked with Shayok on Thursday night and he had a lot of praise for Harris:
Shayok told Taylor:
The vets on the team were really good at just making sure me and Matisse were good mentally. Especially Tobias, he kinda really took me under his wing when I first got here in the summer. I went [to the G League] at peace and just ready to work.
Being one of the more established players on this team, Harris has been wanting to step up as a leader more in 2019-20. He has done a good job of giving an example to both of the rookies and on the court, he is averaging 19.4 points and 6.8 rebounds while morphing into the team’s closer as well.
This is Harris’ ninth season of his NBA career and he has seen it all. He has been traded multiple times, he has playoff experience under his belt, and he works his tail off every day. All of that has earned him the respect of Shayok as added with Taylor:
It slows everything down for you because you’re the rookie and he went through everything I went through, especially at this stage. It makes you feel a lot more confident hearing everything about what he went through and knowing he probably went through the same exact thing. It slows everything down and kinda puts you at ease.
Shayok’s G League season is most likely done due to coronavirus, but his success this season sets himself up nicely for the 2020-21 season and beyond. With the help of Harris, he will be prepared for the next level of his career. [lawrence-related id=28332,28321,28315]