Hosting a thriving Pistons team on Saturday night, the Sixers were crushed, 116-93. Joel Embiid didn’t suit up, so maybe that was ultimately an inevitability, but what stuck with me most from the game was the discourse online about a certain former Sixer now playing in Detroit.
Tobias Harris, who was in Philadelphia from the middle of the 2019 season through the 2024 campaign, was greeted with boos from the Sixers faithful. That’s a pretty standard welcome for non-fan-favorites upon returning to South
Philly. Harris was a talented player who shrunk in big moments and was on an exorbitant contract that management foolishly handed him. Harris is one player in a long line of faux-stars who underwhelmed during their tenure here.
Detroit Free Press Pistons reporter Omari Sankofa II shared the following post about Harris and his reception in Philly:
I understand that from afar those numbers are solid and this reporter is ultimately just making an observation, but I am fairly sure they were not in the trenches, watching Harris several nights per week for nearly six seasons like Sixers fans were. What began as an innocuous statement turned into a social media referendum on Harris’ time as a Sixer. My suggestion to outsiders would be to not poke the bear that is Philadelphia sports fans, but, alas, people far too often make that mistake.
Neither Harris’ regular season numbers nor his contract are what define him in Philadelphia. His playoff shortcomings are what truly tell the tale of his days in Sixers red, white and blue. Here are some examples of his postseason shortcomings, as pointed out online:
2019 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 4 vs. Toronto: 41 minutes, 16 points, 7-23 FG, 2-13 3PT
2020 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 2 vs. Boston: 35 minutes, 13 points, 4-14 FG, 0-2 3PT
2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 5 vs. Atlanta: 38 minutes, 4 points, 2-11 FG, 0-3 3PT
2024 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 6 vs. New York: 29 minutes, 0 points, 0-2 FG, 0-0 3pT
Zero points in an elimination game! Zero! Why the hell wouldn’t Sixers fans boo the guy so hard that the roof of the arena blows straight off? During an era of Sixers basketball where the fourth quarter of a playoff game made my skin crawl with anticipatory dread, no player signified the lack of decisive action that would lead to winning out there than Harris.
Also, does it really matter if Sixers fans are booing him anyway? Who cares? He’s made more than a quarter of a billion dollars in his career. He’ll be fine. Let fans be fans! As long as they’re not engaging in rhetoric that’s racist, sexist or anything abusive along those lines, let them get their energy out. That’s a part of what they’re paying for!
Whatever. I can’t believe I have to defend this fan base’s honor as it relates to Harris in the big 2026, but here we are.
