Elias Harris
Elias Harris (born 6 July 1989) is a German professional basketball player for San-en NeoPhoenix. He played college basketball at Gonzaga University and plays for the German national team. Junior career. Harris was one of the top junior players in Germany when he graduated from Friedrich-Magnus-Schwerd-Gymnasium in his hometown of Speyer, Germany. As a German junior, he spent four years playing for BIS Speyer in the German Pro B third division for four years, averaging 20.9 ppg and 9.2 rpg in 2008–09. He also competed with the German national junior basketball team at the  2005 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship; 2006 and 2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship; and 2008 and 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. College career. Harris committed to NCAA Division I squad Gonzaga University prior to the 2009–10 season. He immediately saw action with the Bulldogs despite being a freshman; in his second game of the season, against powerhouse #2-ranked Michigan State University, he scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds in a narrow 75–71 loss. Professional career. After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Harris joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2013 NBA  Summer League. He finished the summer league with averages of 10.2 points and 5.6 rebounds. On 14 August 2013, he signed a multi-year deal with the Lakers. During his rookie season, he had multiple assignments with the Los Angeles D-Fenders. On 29 November 2013, he was waived by the Lakers. On 13 December 2013, he signed a two-year deal with Brose Bamberg of Germany and in April 2015 had his contract extended through the 2016-17 season. In March 2017, Harris signed a new deal with the Bamberg side, which kept him with the club until 2020 . In July 2014, Harris joined the Phoenix Suns for the 2014 NBA Summer League. In 2020, he did not have his contract renewed by the Bamberg team. During his seven years with the team, Harris won three German championships and two German Cup titles. He served as team captain. On 23 September 2020, Harris signed with Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga. On 3 January 2021, he signed with Basket Zaragoza of the Liga ACB. International career. Harris made his debut with the senior German national basketball team at the EuroBasket 2009. Although he was the second-youngest player on  the team, he averaged 12 minutes per game while seeing action in all six games for the German squad. Personal life. Elias's father Mike is an African American former professional player who played basketball in Germany while his mother Svenja is a former Germany women's national basketball team player.