Tobias Harris Is Proving To Be Worth The Contract The Detroit Pistons Gave Him
It had been known since January of 2024 that Tobias Harris was a likely addition to a Detroit Pistons team that had just lost 28 games in a row. The former Sixer was on his way out of Philadelphia, and rumors of his return to Detroit had swelled around for a few years.
A new front office took over a few months later, though. Would Detroit’s new leadership still go after Harris, a former Pistons player from 2016-2018? The answer was a resounding yes, as Harris was quickly signed by Trajan Langdon and the Pistons. The veteran agreed to a two-year, 52 million dollar deal with Detroit.
Fans questioned whether Harris was worth that much money. After the worst season in franchise history, fans questioned whether signing Harris was a large enough addition to buy back into the franchise.
To start this NBA season, those fans felt they were proven correct.
Harris did not have the start to the season he was expecting. In the first 31 games of this season, Harris was seeing near career-lows across the board. Averaging 12.9 points, on 43 percent shooting from the field, and 32.6 percent from deep, these would be the veteran’s worst numbers since his second season in the NBA back in 2012.
At 32, with 14 years of NBA experience, many wondered if Tobias Harris was losing the battle to father time and simply getting old. Not everyone is LeBron James and lasts a thousand years in the league.
But, like with almost everything involving this Pistons season, everything changed after the New Year. Since January 1st, Harris has looked like the player the Pistons were expecting when they signed him in the offseason.
Over this 31-game sample, Harris is averaging 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 52 percent from the field, 35 percent from deep, and 89 percent from the free throw line. Harris has been one of the most efficient players on the roster, with a 60.6 true shooting percentage.
What has changed? What has led to Harris turning his season around?
Well, one, he’s hitting more open shots. His 35 percent clip from deep these last 31 games is in line with his career average, much higher than the 32 percent he was shooting before the change of the New Year.
With that said, Harris’ volume from three isn’t very large. While the improved percentage is excellent, 3.7 attempts per game isn’t large enough to make this big swing in play.
So, what has it been then?
Harris’ secondary shot-creation, finishing at the rim, and effectiveness as a post-up player are the main culprits.
This season, Harris is finishing at the rim at a career-high rate, shooting 79 percent from within 0-3 feet of the rim. According to CleaningTheGlass, Harris is in the 95th percentile as a finisher at the rim. This is primarily due to Harris learning how to play off of Cade Cunningham and the gravity he creates, becoming a great play-finisher within the Pistons offense.
Harris has been assisted on 54 percent of his two-point field goals, which would be the most since his last season in Orlando in 2015. While he’s offered his own shot creation (more on that in a moment), Harris is no longer being asked to be a max player within an offense like he was in Philadelphia.
Instead, he’s finding ways to score off the ball to contribute to the Pistons offense. For example, Harris is 91st percentile on putbacks this season, scoring 1.39 points per possession. His activity level on the glass has been much better than expected of an older player, and he’s finishing at an elite level on the extra opportunities (he’s had nine plus rebounds in four of the last five games).
Harris is also in the 62nd percentile on cuts, scoring 1.35 points per possession. Playing with Cunningham and playmakers like Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson opened up opportunities for cutters, and Harris has taken full advantage since the change of the New Year.
All of these extracurricular, off-ball improvements are part of why since January 1st, the Pistons' offense has been 8.4 points better with Harris on the floor than without him.
Let’s get to the main culprit, though.
Post-ups.
I’m aware that in big 2025, the NBA national media would have you believe that post-ups are non-existent and something only your grandfather will tell you stories about around the campfire.
That isn’t the case.
Post-ups have been incredibly important to Harris’ offense and the Pistons’ ability to close teams out since January 1st. In the season's first two months, Harris was under the 20th percentile on post-ups. This struggle was the primary reason for his ineffectiveness to start the year.
Now? Harris is in the 66th percentile, scoring 1.06 points per possession on 2.2 possessions per game. Of the 27 NBA players to average at least 2.0 possessions of post-ups per game, Harris now ranks 11th in points per possession, ahead of the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Domantas Sabonis, Victor Wembanyama, and DeMar DeRozan.
There are numerous reasons for Harris’ effectiveness as a post-up player. For starters, at 6’8” with a long wingspan, Harris can get clean looks off over just about anyone.
Take the play above as an example. Harris gets Josh Green on a switch. Green is a good defender but a bit smaller than Harris. Green does a fine job of not giving up much space and forces Harris into multiple pump-fakes. While the Hornets would probably say this is good defense, Harris can still raise over Green and get a clean look inside the free-throw line.
This leads to the following reason why Harris’s post-ups have been so successful: his touch from shots within the free-throw line. According to Basketball Reference, Harris shoots 46 percent on shots between 3 and 10 feet of the rim and 50.8(!) percent on shots from 10 to 16 feet.
According to CleaningTheGlass, Harris is in the 75th percentile on all mid-range shots, shooting 45 percent. Since January 1st, this number jumps to nearly 50 percent, at 49 percent. This is while being in the 97th(!) percentile in volume from mid-range! That is incredible efficiency.
This all leads to the final boss: Harris’ play in the clutch for the Pistons.
According to NBA dot com, Harris is shooting 46.7 percent on shots with five minutes left in a game under five points. At numerous times this season when the momentum is swinging away from the Pistons, Harris has hit a shot to calm the team down and get them back on track.
A recent game against the Golden State Warriors featured two of the best defenses since the beginning of February, with the Pistons ranking first and the Warriors ranking fourth. This was a defensive masterclass, with both teams struggling to find easy baskets.
Tie game with just over two minutes left in the game, after a Steph Curry and-one tied the game and had the crowd rocking, Harris is unfazed. Late shot clock, Harris drives and backs down his defender at the highpost. Harris goes to his patented mid-range pull-up off a post-up, and drains it giving the Pistons the lead back.
Harris comes through for Detroit again in the Pistons' most recent win against the Portland Trail Blazers. After being up by 18 points, the Blazers cut the lead to four points late in the fourth. The Pisstons had been outscored by seven points in the fourth quarter to this point, and Anfernee Simons had caught fire.
With just under three minutes to go, Harris gets the mismatch in the post. Calm, cool, and collected, Harris raises for a mid-range pull-up and drains it, putting Detroit back up by six. Detroit would go on to win this game by seven points.
Harris didn’t start the season how he wanted to. But, after early struggles, the veteran has been exactly what the Pistons paid for. His impact has been overwhelming. Since January 1st, Harris has a +19.1 on/off net rating; BY FAR the best on the Pistons. The next closest is Cunningham at +8.5 on/off net rating.
The Pistons are the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and have blown by all expectations. Detroit is set on catching the Milwaukee Bucks and the fourth seed. Detroit will likely break their playoff win drought, which goes back to 2008, this season.
None of this would be possible without the signing of Tobias Harris.
He has proven worth the two-year, 52 million dollar contract and more.
Oh. And Pistons fans love Uncle T’s updates after every Pistons win.