Joe Harris (basketball)

Early life

Harris was born and raised in Chelan, Washington to Joe Harris Sr., who coached the boys' basketball team at Bridgeport High for 6 years and then Chelan High for 24 years, and Alice Harris, who grew up playing softball, volleyball, and basketball, and is a broker and director of sales at Coldwell Banker Lake Chelan Properties. Harris has three sisters: his older sister, Kaiti, and his younger sisters, Jaicee and Mackenzie. Kaiti played college basketball at Yakima Valley College and Warner Pacific College, Jaicee played volleyball at Washington State, and Mackenzie played volleyball at Chelan High. Harris started going to his father's basketball practices when he was just four years old. He then volunteered to be the team manager from third to eighth grade. As a child, Harris wrote personal goals and quotes from NBA legends on his bedroom walls and ceiling. One of his goals was to take at least 1,000 shots a day.

High school career

Harris played all four years for the Mountain Goats at Chelan High, where he was coached by his father, Coach Joe Harris.

In his junior year, he averaged 24.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals a game, and led the Mountain Goats to the Class 1A state tournament with a 24–6 record. He was named AP Class 1A Player of the Year and was selected to the Class 1A All-Tournament first team.

In his senior year, Harris led his team to fifth place in the Class 1A state tournament after leading them to a 26–2 record. He averaged 26.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 4.4 steals and 1.6 blocks a game, while shooting 59.2% from the field and 76.5% from the free throw line. He was named Washington Mr. Basketball by the Washington State Coaches Association, and named the Gatorade Washington Player of the Year. For the second straight year, Harris was named the AP Class 1A Player of the Year and selected to the Class 1A All-Tournament first team.

He finished off his high school career with 452 assists, 699 rebounds, 282 steals, and a Class 1A state record 2,399 points.

College career

Harris was recruited by head coach, Tony Bennett, while Bennett was the head coach at Washington State.

Freshman season

In Harris’ collegiate debut for the Virginia Cavaliers, he recorded 2 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in a 76–52 win over the William & Mary Tribe. On November 18, Harris had his first career start for the Cavaliers and scored 12 points in a 60–81 loss against Stanford. At the Maui Invitational Tournament, he scored 19 points on 8-of-13 field goals and 7 rebounds in a 63–106 loss against the Washington Huskies. In 35 minutes of playing time, Harris scored a then career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 field goals and grabbed 5 rebounds against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the 2010 ACC–Big Ten Challenge, winning by 87–79. On January 2, he had a season-high 2 blocks in a 64–50 victory against the LSU Tigers. Two days later, Harris scored 16 points with a career-high 5 three-pointers made on 5-of-6 attempts in a 84–63 win against Howard. On February 5, Harris played for a career-high 41 minutes and recorded 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in a 68–70 overtime loss against the Miami Hurricanes. On February 26, he grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds against Boston College in a 44–63 loss. On March 1, Harris recorded an ACC career-high 19 points on 4-of-7 three-point attempts, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, leading the Cavaliers to a 69–58 victory against NC State. The Cavaliers lost to the Hurricanes in the first round of the 2011 ACC Tournament 62–69 in overtime. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 7–9 conference record and a 16–15 overall record.

Harris averaged 29.4 minutes, 4.4 rebounds and 10.4 points per game, and averaged 32.0 minutes, 5.1 rebounds and 11.2 points in the sixteen regular season ACC games. He shot 41.8% from the field, and 41.7% from three-point range (the most by an ACC freshmen since 2000).

Sophomore season

In the season-opening game against South Carolina State, Harris recorded 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in a 75–38 win. At the Cavaliers’ first of three Paradise Jam Tournament games, Harris scored 13 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and gave 3 assists in a 55–57 losing effort against TCU. However, the Cavaliers defeated the Drexel Dragons and the Drake Bulldogs on their second and third games, by 49–35 and 60–52, respectively. Harris scored 12 points against the Dragons and 18 points against the Bulldogs, respectively. At the 2011 ACC–Big Ten Challenge, he scored 18 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and had a season-high 4 steals against the Michigan Wolverines, winning by 70–58. Harris tied his ACC career-high 19 points and his career-high 5 three-pointers in 65–61 win against the Clemson Tigers. On February 25, Harris recorded 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a career-high 3 blocks against North Carolina in a 51–54 losing effort. The Cavaliers were defeated by NC State, 64–67, in the quarterfinals of the 2012 ACC Tournament. Harris helped lead the Cavaliers to the 2012 NCAA Tournament, the program's first tournament bid under Bennett and first since 2007. However, they were eliminated by the Florida Gators, 45–71, in the second round. The Cavaliers ended their season with a 9–7 conference record and a 22–10 overall record.

Harris fractured a bone in his left hand during a game against North Carolina on February 11. He still played in all of the remaining games of the season, but with a padded wrap wrapped around his hand. He also suffered a concussion in a game against Florida State on March 1, when an opposing player, Bernard James, accidentally elbowed the side of his head. Both men were fighting for the rebound, and both fell to the ground after the aforementioned hit. He was also unintentionally kicked in the stomach when James moved to get up, causing himself to be ejected. Harris was cleared to play in the next game.

Harris upped his scoring to 11.3 per game - second on the team to All-American Mike Scott. He also averaged 30.3 minutes and 3.9 rebounds per game. He shot 44.2% from the field, 38.0% from three-point range and 77.2% from the free throw line, and was named to the All-State second team.

Junior season

In the 2012–13 season, Harris became one of the top players in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He started out the season scoring 19 points, handing out 3 assists and grabbing a season-high 8 rebounds in a 59–63 defeat against George Mason. In the first round of the 2012 NIT Season Tip-Off tournament, Harris recorded 15 points, 3 assists and 7 rebounds in a 54–45 victory against the Fairfield Stags. However, Virginia would lose in the second round to Delaware, 53–59. Harris scored 20 points in the losing effort. At the 2012 ACC–Big Ten Challenge, he recorded a game-high 22 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds in a 60–54 victory against the Wisconsin Badgers. On December 8, Harris gave a career-high 6 assists in a 67–39 win over Mississippi Valley State. At the Governor's Invitational game, he recorded 18 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in a 61–63 loss against the Old Dominion Monarchs. On February 12, he tied his career-high 5 3-pointers and finished with 26 points and 4 rebounds in a 73–55 victory over Virginia Tech. On February 28, Harris scored a career-high 36 points against Coach K's Duke Blue Devils in a 73–68 victory. He led the Cavaliers to a 11–7 conference record and a 23–12 overall record, scoring 16.3 points and collecting 4.0 rebounds per game. He was named first team All-ACC at the conclusion of the season.

Senior season

Going into his senior season in 2013–14, Harris received significant preseason recognition. He was a member of the preseason All-ACC team and was named to the preseason watch list for the Wooden Award as national player of the year. Harris led the Cavaliers to their first outright ACC regular season title since 1981, their first ACC tournament title since 1976, and their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1995. Harris subsequently earned ACC Tournament MVP honors, and was named to the All-Tournament team and All-ACC third team.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2014–2016)

On June 26, 2014, Harris was selected with the 33rd overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2014 NBA draft. On July 24, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Cavaliers after averaging 7.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists during the 2014 NBA Summer League. On November 15, Harris recorded 12 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal in a 127–94 win against the Atlanta Hawks. He topped his scoring against the Hawks on December 30, scoring 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting in a 101–109 defeat. Harris received his first career start on January 5, scoring a then career-high 16 points against the Philadelphia 76ers, losing by 92–95. Due to LeBron James's return and Kevin Love's acquisition, Harris rarely saw minutes and was assigned to the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League on January 20. The following day, Harris posted 18 points and 6 rebounds in his D-League debut in a 107–109 double overtime loss to the Delaware 87ers. Harris scored a career-high 26 points against the Maine Red Claws in a 92–104 defeat. On February 6, he scored a game-high 23 points on 6-of-15 field goals including 4 three-pointers in a 102–84 victory over the Sioux Falls Skyforce. In his rookie season, the Cavaliers made it to the 2015 NBA Finals, but they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.

On January 5, 2016, Harris underwent season-ending surgery to remove an extra bone in his right foot. A week later, he was traded, along with a 2017 second-round pick and cash considerations, to the Orlando Magic in exchange for a 2020 second-round pick. He was immediately waived by the Magic upon acquisition.

Brooklyn Nets (2016–present)

On July 19, 2016, Harris signed with the Brooklyn Nets. He made his debut for the Nets in their season opener on October 26, 2016 against the Boston Celtics. In 25 minutes off the bench, he scored 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting in a 122–117 loss. On December 18, 2016, he tied his career high with 19 points in a 108–107 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. On April 2, 2017, he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a sprained left shoulder.

Personal life

Harris is in a relationship with Ina Browning, whom he met while attending Virginia. Browning is a consultant at McKinsey & Company in New York City. He is good friends with his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate, Matthew Dellavedova.

Harris wears a fluorescent green band around his left wrist, in memory of his late cousin, Tricia Haerling.

Off the Court

Since 2015, Harris has held the Joe Harris Basketball Camp, for kindergartners to eighth graders, every summer in Chelan High.