The San Antonio Spurs got the marquee move they needed, and they beat the Los Angeles Lakers to do it.
On July 1, the Spurs landed former Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris, a deal that is now official. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported that the Lakers had interest in the 33-year-old veteran, but San Antonio came away with the signing instead.
“The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed Tobias Harris,” the franchise’s press release stated Monday. “Per team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.”
Harris arrives after a productive season with the Detroit Pistons, where he appeared in 63 games and started all of them. He averaged 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.92 steals in 27.7 minutes per game. He also scored 20 or more points 10 times, finished with at least 15 points 24 times and posted three double-doubles.
His impact showed up when the games mattered most. Harris helped push Detroit back to the postseason and into its first playoff series win since 2008, putting up 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.50 steals in 34.6 minutes during that run.
The move also pushes Harris into a rare financial tier. His new contract lifts his career earnings to $330 million, moving him past Kobe Bryant on the all-time list.
Bryant finished at $323 million. Harris had already made history in 2024 by becoming the first player in NBA history to top $300 million without ever making an All-Star team.
For Harris, this is just the latest high-profile stop in a career that has kept him in demand. He began with the Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Clippers before joining the 76ers in 2019, where he immediately became a key contributor.
Philadelphia gave him a new five-year, $180 million contract after deciding to let Jimmy Butler walk following its Eastern Conference Semifinals loss to the Toronto Raptors. That move helped form a Big Three with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, though the group did not stay together for long. The 76ers traded Simmons in 2022, and Harris later signed a two-year, $52 million deal to return to Detroit in 2024.
The Pistons came one win short of the Eastern Conference Finals this past season, and Harris once again filled the role of a steady, versatile veteran. The Islip, New York native shot 46.9% from the field and 36.8% from three in 63 games, while providing the kind of two-way play and floor spacing the Spurs clearly wanted to add.
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