The Philadelphia 76ers have collectively been one of the most impressive teams in the 2020-2021 season thus far.
One of the biggest reasons for that has been the incredible play of Tobias Harris. Tobias has been quietly making a sustained push to become an All-Star from the Eastern Conference for the first time in his career and rightfully so. Here are the two main reasons why Tobias Harris should be an NBA All-Star this season.
His On-Court Play
Tobias Harris is having one of the best seasons of his career statistically. Tobias has had about a 90/50/40 season to this point, with only his free throw percentage dipping below that 90% point as of recently. As an athletic wing with a high usage rate, this alone could be a case for an All-Star birth. But those percentages aside, Tobias is averaging his career high in points for a season thus far and is just under his career high in assists. Defensively, Tobias is averaging his career high in blocks and is just .1 off of his career high in steals. In terms of plus/minus, Tobias is 17th in the NBA in total plus/minus and 20th in the NBA on a per game basis. These stats need to put him in a conversation with the NBA All-Stars.
Also, the team’s success and his contributions to that success cannot be overlooked. In games that Tobias Harris plays, the team is 16-5. This overall success of the team do in no small part to Tobias Harris’ excellence should punch his ticket to the All-Star game.
His Competition
As of February 5th, Tobias Harris was not listed in the top 10 frontcourt players for Eastern Conference All-Star voting. While we are still somewhat early in the process, Tobias’ competition needs to be considered. Obviously, the top vote getters currently will be in the All-Star game. The names include Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, and teammate Joel Embiid. However after that, Tobias Harris should be in that company. Julius Randle and Domantas Sabonis will likely make the game as they have been the true bright spots for their teams who are having some surprising success. The same could be said for Gordon Hayward, although he has not even been the biggest talking point on his own team as the guard play for the Hornets is what has really kept the sub .500 team in the playoff race. However, including Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Jerami Grant over Tobias is criminal. Both Butler and Adebayo have missed tremendous amounts of time this season, Butler especially. And despite how well Grant has played this year, leaving out a player who is having the season of Tobias for a good player on the worst team in the NBA seems a bit ridiculous.
We can only hope that Tobias is rewarded for his incredible season thus far with his first ever All-Star birth. Be sure to vote for Tobias and help propel him into the All-Star game this season.
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Photo: via Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports
