Tobias Harris is heading to San Antonio, giving the Spurs a seasoned forward with plenty of NBA mileage and a familiar Tennessee connection.
According to an ESPN report, Harris agreed to a two-year, $31 million deal with the reigning Western Conference champions after becoming a free agent. The 33-year-old is set to begin his 16th NBA season and will do so with his sixth team.
Harris spent the last two seasons in Detroit, where he put up 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons’ run ended in the second round of the playoffs, where they fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games.
Before his long NBA career, Harris spent one season in Knoxville as a one-and-done freshman for Tennessee in 2010-11, Bruce Pearl’s final year as head coach. He started 33 of 34 games for the Vols and averaged 15.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 46% from the floor. Tennessee’s season ended with a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Michigan.
The Charlotte Bobcats took Harris with the 19th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft before his rights were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. Since then, he has also played for the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers.
San Antonio’s Tennessee ties won’t stop there. Three former Vols are scheduled to suit up for the Spurs at the NBA Summer League California Classic on July 3.
Ja'Kobi Gillespie, the recent All-SEC standout selected No. 42 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, will make his debut alongside Zakai Zeigler and Igor Milicic Jr. against the Miami Heat at 8 p.m. TV time is still to be determined.
Zeigler played all four seasons at Tennessee from 2021-25 and picked up All-SEC defensive honors every year. The 5-foot-9 guard most recently played for Nanterre 92 in the LNB Élite French league.
Milicic finished his college career at Tennessee with Zeigler in the 2024-25 season, then stayed in the United States to play in the NBA G League with the Delaware Blue Coats.
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