Tobias Harris reflects on his tumultuous tenure with the Sixers: ‘It wasn’t an easy experience’

They trashed him. They blamed him. They counted his money.

He improved his defense. He mentored young teammates. He helped the Philadelphia community.

Tobias Harris was an easy target who never quite caught on with 76ers fans, but he left a lasting impression on teammates and in the community.

“Very business casual,” Sixers swingman Kelly Oubre Jr. said in describing Harris. “That’s how he dressed. It’s how he operates himself, very professional. You know, very suave. You know what I mean? Tobias is a great dude, man.

“But on that court, it’s going to be a different story.”

» READ MORE: Tobias Harris scores 18 in return to Philly as lowly Detroit Pistons hand Sixers a bad loss

That’s because Harris arrived at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday evening and donned a different uniform. The power forward is a key player for the Detroit Pistons. He’s focused on getting the struggling franchise back to relevancy.

His immediate goal was to help the Pistons get their first victory of the season. But even with Joel Embiid and Paul George sidelined, ending Detroit’s winless streak on this night would be a tough task against the Sixers. So we thought.

The Pistons improved to 1-4 thanks in large part to Harris finishing with season highs of 18 points and 14 rebounds in the 105-95 victory over his former team.

Harris chose to keep it positive when discussing his return.

“It’s always good to be back,” said Harris, who spent the past 5½ seasons in Philadelphia. “The hotel we’re staying at, I never stayed there before. It’s a little different, but it’s cool. … A lot of memories. A lot of experiences. So kind of like taking it all in. But overall, like, I feel glad about coming back.”

Paul Reed, another Sixer-turned-Piston, received a more welcoming reception. Fans chanted “B Ball Paul’ during a video tribute for Reed and Harris during a video tribute during the game’s first timeout. Harris, a player, a player Sixers fans loved to hate during his tenure, was booed during pregame introductions, every time he touched the ball and entered the game.

» READ MORE: Sixers takeaways: Rebounding and three-point shooting woes are critical in loss

“The reception I thought was great,” he said. “There’s obviously going to be boos, there’s obviously going to be people that cheered. In any type of reception, that is how it is. So I knew it wasn’t going to be a tearful moment, I’ll tell you that, I knew that coming in.”

A lot of the boos had to do with, in the Sixers fans’ eyes, an inability to live up to the five-year, $180 million contract he signed on July 10, 2019.

The last impression of Harris was him being held scoreless in his final game here, the Sixers’ 118-115 Game 6 loss to the New York Knicks on May 2 at the Wells Fargo Center. The series-clinching defeat marked the Sixers’ second first-round playoff loss in five seasons.

Harris, now in his 14th NBA season, attempted only two shots while finishing with four rebounds and three assists. He was a team-worst minus-10 in 29 minutes, 20 seconds. He was criticized for not being aggressive and becoming the invisible man during certain stretches.

Harris was criticized for being paid like an All-Star and not producing like one. Harris could have helped himself, especially in Game 6, by cutting to the basket and looking for his own shot at times. But at the same time, the 6-foot-8, 226-pounder was not used like he was when he scored 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting in Game 5.

And that’s been the story of Harris’ tenure in Philly.

Cut to the 2024-25 season, and Sixers fans who routinely booed him feel validated that Harris has struggled in Detroit. Harris took averages of 10 points, seven rebounds, one block, and 1.8 turnovers in Wednesday’s game. He shot just 34.1% from the field and made 17.6% of three-pointers.

But in the second half against the Sixers, Harris scored 14 of his points on 6-for-11 shooting to break out of his shooting slump.

Harris can and always could play. He just wasn’t a good fit for what the Sixers wanted as a third or fourth option.

They were at their best last season with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey excelling in their two-man game. That left Harris as an afterthought on offense.

» READ MORE: Paul Reed ‘felt some type of way’ about leaving Sixers, but is ready to turn the page with Detroit Pistons

The problem is, he’s at his best with the ball in his hands. He excels in pick-and-rolls. Harris needs the ball to stay in rhythm. Instead, he had to play various roles here that didn’t highlight his strengths.

“It was tough,” Harris said. “But to be honest, that was what was asked of me as a player. It may not have been essentially the ideal role of what I wanted at the time. But that was what was asked of me from the team and the staff. And from time to time, it was something I had to make an adjustment to, and toward the end of last year, I kind of realized that it was just what it is.”

Harris realized that he had to be OK with the limited role. He had to go “through the storm” and figure out ways to be productive. Once he started doing that, it took a lot of stress off him as a player/

“But overall, it wasn’t easy,” he said. “It wasn’t an easy experience. But like I said, it was something that I grew from and have learned from and have taken, honestly, into this new situation with these guys and have been extremely fortunate to be a part of a great group of young guys on this team and a great staff.

“I take everything I’ve learned about my career into this opportunity.”

It’s not surprising that Harris’ fondest memory as Sixer was off the court.

He’s most proud of his community impact initiatives in the Philadelphia area. His biggest disappointment was not being able to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs.

“A lot of high expectations for a very good group,” he said of his tenure. “Different coaching staffs, different rosters, but, overall, I felt like every year, we had enough talent to make something happen.

“We just didn’t come together. But that’s just kind of the nature of sports sometimes.”