The NBA D-League is crawling with talent. The talent down in the D-League may not be franchise player level talent, but players who can come up to the NBA and produce right away. Manny Harris is one of those players. He is the best player not affiliated with an NBA team currently in the D-League. Harris has been in the D-League for the last four seasons, but he clearly no longer belongs in a league built for developing players.
Harris currently plays for the Texas Legends, the affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends may have the most loaded roster in the league with former NBA players in Gary Neal and Tony Wroten. They also had Pierre Jackson, who was just called up by the Dallas Mavericks just days ago. Mix in solid young prospects such as Satnam Singh, Kyle Collinsworth, and AJ Hammons and the Legends have a good and team filled with depth.
Harris stands out from the rest, even Pierre Jackson. He has played with the Legends now for about a season and a half, and since being with them has been a franchise piece for the exciting team. This season has been his best yet. Harris, 27, is playing over 39 minutes per game this season, and with his high minutes come his stellar stats. He is averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.
Harris’ elite scoring sticks out because of the efficiency he puts the ball in the basket. He is shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 78.2 percent from the free throw line. He is also knocking down a respectable 36.3 percent of his three-point attempts this season. His 26.6 points per game are the second-highest in the D-League, only behind his teammate, Pierre Jackson.
What separates Harris from other greats in the D-League such as Jackson, Jordan Crawford, Quinn Cook, and Kevin Murphy is his defense. His lanky 6’6″ frame allows him to be a solid defender and cause havoc for opposing offenses. He is second in the D-League in steals per game, averaging 2.7 steals a game.
Harris went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft but has spent time with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. He made the NBA D-League All-Star Game back in 2014. The 6’6″ wing has all the tools to succeed in the NBA but has been unable to secure a deal with a team.
In the clutch, Harris has been a steady cog for the Legends. In the last five minutes of the game, when the Legends were either up five or down five points, Harris has been crucial to the Legends success. In that scenario, he has averaged 2.9 points on 56.1 percent shooting from the field, and 57 percent from the three-point line, according to stats.nbadleague.com.
Harris was named the NBA D-League Performer of the Week from December 26th to January 1st. In that time he averaged a league-high 38 points per game, along with five rebounds and four assists per game. His efficiency never waivered even at the volume he was scoring at, shooting 57.4 percent from the field. During that week he had a 47-point performance in a win against the Austin Spurs.
“I just want to control what I can control, which is staying positive and grinding hard, and let everything else work itself out, Harris told DLeague.com.
For now, Harris is still in the D-League with the Texas Legends. With Pierre Jackson now back up with the Mavericks, all the eyes will once again be on Harris, who will continue to dominate the NBA D-League scene. His sheer talent will soon be noticed. It is only a matter of time until Manny Harris is back in the NBA.
