Harris: 36ers locked in for NBL23

The expectations that have been placed on the Adelaide 36ers since their win over the Phoenix Suns have been huge, and rightly so. After entering the NBL pre-season as nominated title contenders, their victory over the NBA side has elevated them to the level of potential title fancies.

These extra expectations weren't slowed down by the follow-up loss to OKC either, and why would they be? The 36ers are the first and only NBL team to have defeated an NBA opposition, and they didn't narrowly beat a rebuilding side. No. They comprehensively outclassed a team expected to challenge for the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

That victory made the 36ers the talk of the basketball world for just a few days. There were rumours of NBA contracts being offered to their stars, prime-time interviews on American TV. Even guys like Ja Morant and Kevin Durant were on board the 36ers train for a short while.

Hyrum Harris was a part of that historic win over the Suns, and matched up directly with Chris Paul during his minutes on the court. His solid contributions to the win then saw him rewarded with almost 20 minutes of action against the Thunder a few days later.

As a young and emerging player, it would be easy for Harris to get caught up in the hype that’s surrounding the 36ers, but he says the entire group’s feet are firmly planted on the ground ahead of game one of the new NBL season.

“I think the coaches have done a really good job with us just making us understand that, yes, we achieved the goal of beating an NBA team, but at the end of the day those are pre-season games,” Harris told NBL Media.

“Now we’re onto the next step. The next step is Thursday (against Tasmania), and then after that Saturday (against Illawarra). The coaches have done a really good job of enforcing that.

“It’s our job to be ready and to come with no excuses. Whether it be time difference, or jetlag, or whatever, we just have to be prepared for the game on Thursday.

“At the end of the day we’re all professional athletes … it was awesome to win, but we need to stay locked in for the whole season.”

After stints in Illawarra and Cairns, Harris seems to have found a home in Adelaide. A star in the NZNBL, he played very few minutes in NBL21 with Cairns as an injury replacement player, before signing with the 36ers last year.

His averages jumped in every key statistic in his inaugural campaign in Adelaide, and his rapid development saw him awarded the club’s Most Improved Player award at the end of last season.

Having gone from potential NBL outcast to sharing a court with the likes of Chris Paul and Devin Booker is some rise for the Kiwi guard, but Harris says he wasn’t going to let himself become overawed by the occasion.

“Before the Phoenix game there was a little bit of ‘wow, we’re about to play and NBA team, Hall-of-Famers’, that sort of stuff. After we got those pre-game jitters out of the way, especially for me, when I got into the game it was just like ‘ok cool, who cares’,” he reflected.

“They have to try and put the ball in the hoop the same amount of times as we do, so you have to treat it as just another game. After the game you look back and think ‘what the heck did we just do?’, but you can’t play into it too much during the game because you’ve already lost if you think about it too much.

“From one through five whoever stepped on the court was ready. Obviously, Craig (Randall II) and ‘Robo’ (Robert Franks) are just different talents and sitting on the bench we were just stoked. Every shot that went in we’d just stand up, wave our towels and just be stoked for the guys, because what better stage to do it on than the NBA stage.”

The 36ers are a vastly different side than they were last year, and Harris is one of just a handful of players who will go around again for the side in NBL23.

The likes of Mitch McCarron, Sunday Dech, Kai Sotto and Daniel Johnson have remained, but the raft of new talent - including three new imports - is ready to help the team try to return to its glory days of the late 1990’s.

In comes reigning Defensive Player of the Year Antonius Cleveland, Brisbane's reigning MVP, Franks, and NBA G-League Most Improved Player in Randall II as the new import crew.

Anthony Drmic is back from his sojourn in Brisbane. The exciting pair of Kyrin Galloway and Deng Acuoth have jumped on board. Even development player Nick Marshall has come into the team with more expected of him, after a strong NBL1 campaign with Mount Gambier and a strong performance against Overtime Elite. 

When asked about his own personal goals for the upcoming season, Harris had a simple answer.

“Win,” he said.

“I was here last year when it was very rare – we won 10 or 11 games last season. Personally my goal this year is to help the team win a championship.

“Whatever I need to do whether that be cheering everyone on from the sidelines, giving my input here or there, or playing hard when I get on.

“Whatever needs to be done to achieve my goal, I think that’s all I want to do."

The Adelaide 36ers kick off their NBL23 campaign tonight at 7:00pm ACDT, live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel.