Devin Lamar Harris (born February 27, 1983) is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player.
Harris was nagged by injuries after his sophomore year of high school and was unable to participate in the summer basketball camps and tournaments that are ever important in the recruiting process.
Harris was named Wisconsin's "Mr. Basketball" for 2001, edging out Travis Diener of Fond du Lac High School.
Bennett retired in the midst of the upcoming season and by the time Harris arrived on campus, Bo Ryan was the head coach.
The Badgers came into the season being predicted to finish as low as ninth in the Big Ten Conference (which had eleven teams at the time).
Harris, along with senior Kirk Penney and fellow sophomore Mike Wilkinson, led the Badgers to their second consecutive Big Ten Championship.
Harris showed marked improvement in the early stages of the 2005–06 season, especially when it came to scoring; as a result, his minutes increased and he took more ball-handling responsibilities from Jason Terry.
He is known for his exceptional speed, earning comparisons to other NBA guards like the Phoenix Suns' Leandro Barbosa and his good friend, the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade.
Harris returned for the playoffs and played a huge role in toppling the Mavericks' longtime rivals, the San Antonio Spurs.
On February 19, 2008, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets with Keith Van Horn, Trenton Hassell, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, $3 million cash and two first-round draft picks (2008, 2010) in exchange for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen, and Antoine Wright.
[6] After New Jersey missed the playoffs for the first time in 7 years, he expressed that he was not satisfied with the way he played toward the season's end and he said he would mainly need to work on his assertiveness on offense over the summer.
On November 7, 2008, Harris posted a career-high 38 points against All-Star Allen Iverson, who was making his debut with the Detroit Pistons.
[7] He later bettered that mark on November 30 with 47 points, including scoring 21 in both the first half and the fourth quarter, against the Suns in the Nets' first win in Phoenix since 1993.
[11] In a cost-cutting move, the Nets traded Vince Carter on the same day of the 2009 NBA draft, leaving Harris to assume the role of team captain.
On February 23, 2011, Harris was traded along with rookie Derrick Favors, two draft picks and $3 million cash to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Deron Williams.
[17] On January 18, 2014, Harris made his season debut and scored six points in 17 minutes off the bench in the Mavericks' 127–111 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
[18] He played well off the bench for the Mavericks over the second half of the 2013–14 season, scoring a season-high 20 points on March 9 in a win over the Indiana Pacers.
A left big toe strain suffered in late January forced him out of action for 10 games, returning to the line-up on February 21 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
[34] Harris owns the Guinness World Record for "fastest man with a basketball," running the length of the court in 3.9 seconds.