Retirement of Sharpshooter and 3-Point Contest Champion Joe Harris from Basketball

Joe Harris emerged as a remarkable success story in the NBA. Despite being overlooked coming out of Virginia and facing doubts about his athletic abilities as a second-round pick, his perseverance paid off. He was initially let go by the Cavaliers and the Magic early in his career, but found his stride with the Brooklyn Nets. Harris transformed into one of the league's top shooters, even outshooting Stephen Curry to win the All-Star Saturday 3-Point Contest.

Harris has decided to retire from basketball, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.

After 10 NBA seasons, Joe Harris has retired from basketball. Harris played 504 NBA games for the Nets, Cavaliers and Pistons. He was a career 43.6 percent three-point shooter and won the Three-Point Contest at 2019 All-Star weekend. pic.twitter.com/2eLPJAhLzU

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 15, 2024

Harris signed with Brooklyn in 2016 when GM Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson were working on rebuilding a struggling franchise. Within a couple of years under Atkinson, Harris had developed into one of the best and most feared shooters in the NBA. At his peak, from 2018-2021, Harris averaged at least 13.7 points a game and, more importantly, shot 45.8% from 3, twice leading the league in 3-point percentage. In 201,9 at the All-Star Game, Harris won the 3-Point Contest.

Things came apart early in the 2021-22 season when Harris suffered a major ankle injury, he never moved or shot as well after that. The Nets eventually traded him to Detroit before last season in a salary dump move.

Over a 10-year career, Harris averaged 10.3 points a game and shot 43.6% from 3, which remains the fifth-best percentage in the league.