Transitioning from the court to life after basketball can be challenging for NBA players. As Charles Barkley once said to a retiring teammate as he left the locker room after the last game of the season: “That’s the doorway to the real world.”
It’s true that there’s nothing like being a pro athlete. But it doesn’t last forever. A lot of players segue into coaching. But that’s not for everyone. Some, like Michael Finley, learn the ropes of the front office toward becoming a shot-caller for a franchise’s basketball operations.
Others, like Dirk Nowitzki, immerse themselves in business and philanthropy.
For Devin Harris, moving into a position in the media has been a learning experience.
“I didn’t go to school for this,” he said. “I didn’t do any training for this. This is all learning on the fly. It’s coming along.”
Indeed, Harris has become more comfortable in front of the camera. He was really good at playing basketball during a 15-year NBA career. And he was always jovial when doing media interviews.
That doesn’t always translate into being great in the broadcasting game, but Harris is showing that talking about basketball is something he can be pretty good at, too.
The newest member of the Mavericks’ broadcast team spent 10 of his NBA seasons with the Mavericks – in three different stints.
Now, he’s joined the telecast both for the studio shows before and after the games, and at halftime, as well as filling in periodically as the analyst alongside Mark Followill on the local telecasts.
It has not been an easy job to step into.
“I’m starting to get used to it,” Harris said. “It just takes a little time. This year, doing the color, that was like another learning process.
“But I’m enjoying it. It kind of keeps me close to the game and I am learning a lot about how the business works.”
One of Harris’ harshest critics, in a poking-fun kind of a way, is one of his best friends, Nowitzki.
The hall of famer has watched Harris’ introduction to the media business with great interest and said he’s approaching it much the same way he came into the NBA.
“Well, we all know that Devin couldn’t pass, shoot or dribble when he first got to the Mavs. But he had a tremendous work ethic and made a decent career for himself,” Nowitzki said, jokingly.
Turning serious, he added: “When Devin decided to get into broadcasting after he retired, I think it was a similar thing. He knew what he wanted to do, and he was going to work hard at it.
“It isn’t an easy skill to hone, and I think Devin has successfully made that tough transition from player to broadcaster. I really enjoy listening to him call Mavs games.”
Harris figures he’d be watching the games anyway. Joining with the Bally Sports Southwest team has allowed him a way to stay connected to the game.
And, of course, it allows him to keep in touch with a lot of people, like Nowitzki and a lot of his other former teammates. Plus, he can stay close to the new generation of players.
Rest assured, Harris is always keeping tabs on the Mavericks. He retired after the 2018-19 season, the same as Nowitzki’s final year.
Since then, Harris has enjoyed family time, but the time was right last season to dip a toe into the media side of the sport.
Now, Harris is getting more adept at commenting on the Mavericks’ successes and failures.
He was particularly impressed by the moves they pulled off at the trade deadline on Feb. 8. They acquired center Daniel Gafford and forward P.J. Washington in separate moves.
“I think they addressed a need,” Harris said. “They had to get bigger. They had to get more rebounding. They did that.”
And, if things break right for the Mavericks, Harris sees great potential for this team.
“You look at last season, when they struggled, they addressed that and in the last 25 games or so, they can really make some hay,” he said. “And I think their team is built for success in the playoffs. They’re moving in the right direction.”
Harris had a strong career as a player. He was an All-Star in 2008-09 and played in the Mavericks’ first NBA Finals appearance in 2006. He was thrust into a starting role in his first NBA game when then-Mavs coach Don Nelson made the bold move to start the rookie. The Mavericks won seven of their first eight games with Harris starting at point guard.
What he remembers most about playing, though, was the final year when he and Nowitzki, both knowing they were near the end of their line, hobbled through their final season while Luka Dončić was taking the baton as the face of the franchise.
In that season, Harris played 68 games and helped mentor Luka through his rookie season. And there was another highlight that season, he said, even though the Mavericks missed the playoffs.
“I wanted to go out on a high note, but watching Dirk fight back just to get on the court after the ankle injury, watching him grind, I think that motivated everybody,” Harris said. “To do that at his age, you could tell he wanted to come back. And we kind of knew it was his last year, but he didn’t announce it. Most guys would be: why am I doing this?”
They do it because there’s nothing like playing in the NBA.
But when that comes to an end, new doors open.
Harris has walked through his and his new career is full of promise.
X: @ESefko
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