The Philadelphia 76ers currently rank atop the Eastern Conference standings as they’ve posted an impressive 20-11 record. Joel Embiid is playing at an MVP level and Ben Simmons likely will join him on the NBA All-Star team. Meanwhile, Tobias Harris has flown under-the-radar a bit.
It has been an impressive season for Tobias Harris once again. In 28 performances, he is averaging 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists and has thrived playing the power forward spot with Al Horford no longer on the 76ers’ roster.
It seems as though many do not consider the 76ers as having a Big 3 since Tobias Harris is not an All-Star. He certainly does not appreciate that sentiment but uses it as motivation.
“Yeah, you know, that shit pisses me off,” Harris said, via Sam Amick of The Athletic. “I ain’t even gonna lie. But I also kind of get it because that’s kind of been me my whole life. You know, I was a top-10 player coming out (of Tennessee in 2011), and I wasn’t on many draft boards like that in the beginning. Even now, it’s like if you look at those stats (this season), you would say, ‘Oh wow’ (but he remains under the radar). … But at the same time, the respect that I always care about is the respect between myself and teammates. And I know (it’s there) when I walk in the gym and the young rookies come up to me and ask me for advice and ask me, ‘You on your All-Star level tonight?’ and I tell them, ‘You already know…’ That type of respect is what really matters to me.”
Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid have already earned numerous Al-Star appearances during their NBA careers and it’s certainly fair to consider them a star duo. Most teams just do not actually have Big 3’s in the NBA aside from the Brooklyn Nets.
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It’s important to give Tobias Harris the credit he deserves though. Moving him to the four spot has opened up the floor substantially for both Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to operate. As a unit, the Philadelphia 76ers have become a dangerous offense and overall team.
