Ricky Council IV singles out Tobias Harris as a veteran who helped him
CAMDEN, N.J. — Philadelphia 76ers undrafted rookie forward Ricky Council IV made an impact in his first season in the NBA.
Signed to a two-way deal immediately after the 2023 NBA draft, Council earned a standard deal by season’s end. In 32 games, Council averaged 5.4 points and 1.4 rebounds. The rookie stayed ready no matter what was going on and he showed enough to coach Nick Nurse and the Sixers to earn a longer-term opportunity.
It also helped that he was on a veteran-laden team able to show him the ropes. When asked which veteran was the most influential for him, Council IV showed no hesitation.
“Tobias Harris,” he said bluntly. “My guy. He was real big for me. Just from the beginning of the year, I figured that was kind of my position — the three/four — so I was just watching him. And he’s the type of vet — some people are going to be like, ‘I love this vet because he gave me a lot of money, he got me things, he took me shopping.’ That was never him. He didn’t get me my first materialistic thing until the other day. He gave me a bag because he didn’t like the duffel bag I was wearing. He got me a Goyard bag, so I appreciate that.”
Harris has always been known as a veteran leader who takes young players under his wing. He is a solid player who has his head on straight and is a reliable voice in the locker room.
“All he was giving me was advice and helping me,” Council said. “‘When we’re at halftime, be the first one out.’ There’s a lot of things. I can’t even put everything into words, but he’s helped me a lot. He gets a lot of hate, and I don’t know where it comes from. He’s a really good person. And obviously Tyrese (Maxey). He’s helped a lot, too. He’s more around my age, so it’s kind of like a big brother and a middle-aged brother. Yeah, them two for sure.”
As Council heads into the offseason, he will take some important lessons from Harris and Maxey.
“The work ethic from Tyrese, and the professionalism from Tobias is unreal,” he finished. “And that’s why I was glad I had him in my corner this whole year. I appreciate him for that, wherever he’s at next year. If it’s here, I would absolutely love it. If not, he said that I’ll always be in his corner. So it’ll be good to have that.”
