Tobias Harris up for NBA Community Assist Award

Tobias Harris was among the most impactful Detroit Pistons on the floor, and he’s one of the most impactful Pistons off the floor as well.

Tobias Harris had perhaps the biggest on-court impact of anybody on the Detroit Pistons roster from the beginning of the season to the end. Whether he was in the starting lineup or coming off the bench, he was effective and professional all season long. Harris is also among the most impactful Pistons off the court.

Tobias Harris has long been known to be community-minded in all of his stops, whether it be with the Milwaukee Bucks or the Orlando Magic, and certainly here in Detroit. Within just a couple of days of being traded to the Pistons in 2016, he was in Detroit area schools, working with kids.

Harris won the NBA Cares Community Assist award for the month of October last season, and he’s in the running for the 2016-17 NBA Community Assist award as well.

Related Story: It's time for the Pistons to unleash Tobias Harris

To vote for Harris, just retweet the embedded tweet below.

A few notable contributions to the Metro Detroit community in the past year:

• Community Conversation: In November, the Pistons joined RISE to host a town hall meeting that brought together local police, community leaders and youth to discuss the need to drive social progress. Harris was vocal about wanting to be involved and was one of the individuals on the panel and leading the discussion.

• Mentor PSA: Harris was selected by Mentor, the National Mentoring Partnership, to create a national PSA about the importance of mentorship and how to get involved. Click here to view the video.

• Mentorship Program: Tobias started his own mentorship program and adopted multiple schools in Detroit and Flint. He frequently visited with these schools where he spoke with the students about setting career goals, the importance of good grades and attendance, as well as having respect and good character. He also brought out many of these students to Pistons games through his Player Charity Ticket section.
• “When Tobias comes to our school, he helps us and teaches us. He asks what colleges we would like to go to when we grow up and asks what goals we should set for ourselves to achieve our goals.” – Alan, Bagley Elementary School
• “He helps us learn how to become men and respect ladies.” – Arman, Bagley Elementary School

• Player Charity Ticket Section: Tobias purchased a $30,000 season-long ticket package as part of the Pistons Player Charity Ticket Program. These tickets were donated to local non-profit organizations that benefit underprivileged youth. He also hosted students that participated in his mentorship program.

• City Year Detroit: Tobias was selected as a City Year Honorary Team Member for the 2016/17 school year and was a liaison between the Pistons organization and City Year students.

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In what was largely a lost season for the Detroit Pistons, it’d be good to see one of the NBA’s truly good guys get rewarded for his efforts in the Metro Detroit area. Feel free to vote and share via any means you might have to help make this happen. Make sure to include the hashtags #TobiasHarris and #NBACommunityAssist if you share on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.