PHILADELPHIA — When the Philadelphia 76ers swung the blockbuster deal at the deadline to acquire James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets, the move changed everything up and down the roster. Everybody on the team had to adjust and Tobias Harris had to adjust the most.
At the beginning of the 2021-22 season, Harris was the second option on offense next to Joel Embiid. Then, the team acquired Harden, basically bumping Harris to the fourth option thanks to Harden’s presence as well as the emergence of Tyrese Maxey. That requires a lot of understanding as well as being able to adjust.
Harris did so in a big way. He shot 40% from deep and settled nicely into his new role. He then shot 38.6% from deep in the playoffs while playing some excellent defense not seen before in his career.
“I would say after pretty much All-Star break, a couple of games in, I definitely did find a very good niche and a role here in the playoffs as well,” said Harris. “For sure, I’m always a guy who’s gonna do whatever is asked of the team. Whatever I can do to try and impact winning, that’s gonna be on my agenda as a player. I do think we have enough talent to win. I was gonna do everything in my power to help our group and our team.”
That’s the thing about Harris. He is not this star player who is going to throw the team on his back and explode for 30 points, but what he does bring is invaluable to a team. He has a positive mindset no matter what is going on and he does an excellent job of being able to adjust to whatever is thrown at him in order to improve as a player and help the team.
“Basketball is a great game,” he said. “Just in terms of being able to compete, but outside of that, you learn a lot about yourself in many ways and I think this has been a year of growth for myself in terms of basketball. In terms of demeanor and just overall growth and being able to be settled into everything that went on throughout the whole year and kinda find a rhythm and a balance and a common ground for our group throughout everything.”
Despite the tough ending for the Sixers, this was a very solid year for Harris.
“I’m proud of myself for fighting through this whole year,” he finished. “It’s obviously disappointing at this moment right now to take that L, but at the end of the day, I know that this is continued growth from here on out.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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