Lottery Player Spotlight: Tobias Harris

An improved jump shot has elevated the 22-year-old’s game.

Entering this season, Orlando Magic small forward Tobias Harris cashed in on just 28 percent of his 3-point attempts.

He also struggled from 3-point range in college. In his lone season at Tennessee, he shot only 30.3 percent from 3-point land.

But his rebounding skills and his ability to get high-percentage shots near the basket made him a first-round talent. The Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) drafted Harris 19th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft, but traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks soon after. He spent just over one season in Milwaukee and received minimal playing time.

During the 2012-13 season, the Bucks traded Harris to Orlando, and since then, the skills he demonstrated in college have revealed themselves. Through 28 games with Milwaukee, he averaged 4.9 points per game in 11.6 minutes. In 27 games with the Magic, he averaged 17.3 points per game in about 36 minutes.

This season, Harris is averaging 18.5 points per game, and his 18.27 player efficiency rating (according to ESPN’s John Hollinger) ranks ninth among NBA small forwards. He ranked 12th in 2013 and in 2012, he ranked 17th.

Harris is also rebounding at a high level. His 7.8 rebounds per game ranks second among NBA small forwards, trailing only Golden State’s Draymond Green.

But the most noticeable improvement in Harris’ game has been his improved 3-point shot.

This year, Harris is shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range, almost a 10 percent increase from his career average. He is also on pace to make 82 3-pointers, which would surpass his previous career-high by 48.

His improved shooting can be attributed to his work with veteran guard Ben Gordon and player development coach Jay Hernandez. In an article written by John Denton of orlandomagic.com, Harris discusses how Gordon’s experience motivated him to get better.

“[Our bond] is because of our demeanors to want to get better as players,’’ Harris said. “We always want to be in the gym. There are times when we’d be in the gym at 11 o’clock at night when we wanted to work on something or wanted to get some shots up. Ben’s in his 11th year and he’s still striving to improve, and we’re both just like to work in silence and get in the gym and get our work done. We’ve been able to connect that way. ”

Harris also said his refined shooting touch has elevated his overall game.

“Being able to make [the 3-point] shot sets up my game real well. It keeps the defense on their heels. But at the same time that doesn’t mean that I’m going to settle for those jumpers. I still want to attack.’’

And he is continuing to attack, converting on 49.5 percent of his 2-point shots this season.

Now in his fourth NBA season, Harris can become a restricted free agent in 2015. Orlando has already agreed to an extension with center Nikola Vucevic, and they would be wise to retain Harris as well. In the meantime, keep looking for highlights such as this.