Los Angeles Clippers forward Tobias Harris took a seat and peeled a hard-earned orange after some extra work at Friday’s noon practice at the Hawaii Convention Center.
Harris munched on a few slices in the converted ballroom when an exceptionally large presence appeared, blocking out some overhead light.
Seven-foot-three center Boban Marjanovic held out an expectant hand and raised an eyebrow at his teammate. Harris sighed, handed over his remaining slices and started peeling a new orange as Marjanovic, the largest player in the NBA, smiled goofily and went back to his on-court workout.
“Just as he steals my orange,” Harris said with mock indignation. That was seconds after a reporter asked him what made the two teammates hit it off so well.
Yes, the “Bobi and Tobi Show” has come to the islands.
Harris will likely be a starter and Marjanovic a backup when the Clippers face the Sydney Kings at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
CLIPPERS HAWAII CLASSIC
LA Clippers vs. Sydney Kings
>> Where: Stan Sheriff Center
>> When: Sunday, 3:30 p.m.
>> Tickets: $25-150 at 944-2697 or clippers.com/hawaii
They were part of a group who came over to L.A. in the Blake Griffin trade with Detroit in January. They were already good friends with the Pistons.
Now it’s the best bromance in the NBA — one that has taken off on social media in recent weeks. Their antics and pranks were filmed in a spin class and a dance class and on the streets of Las Vegas. It’s unclear if the show, put out by the Clippers on various social media platforms, will continue through the NBA regular season.
Marjanovic flashed a wide smile and stretched out his long legs at a chance to talk about their preseason show; everything he does involves outsized dimensions.
“I hope you guys, everybody enjoy and have fun like we have fun shooting this,” Marjanovic said. “This is really who we are. We are not pretending, acting. It’s really how we do, and how we have fun. We just do that because we love to do that, show our friendship. (And when) somebody sends us the message, ‘Hey, you make my day better,’ or whatever, because of that I have smile on my face every time. … It’s a good thing.”
On the first day of camp, Harris told a media scrum, “Boban thinks he can surf. He was telling me about surfing today and I was like … you’re too tall.”
The two went ATV riding up at Kualoa Ranch on Thursday.
“That was my first time on one of those. It was a lot of fun,” Harris said. “Boban was driving really fast. I had to tell him chill out, we have training camp tomorrow. But it was good.”
The Clippers have welcomed the explosion of popularity for the unlikely duo. Especially at this time of the year, when team-building is paramount.
“Well, I laugh a lot,” coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s been good for them. It’s genuine, it’s not a forced thing, it’s not fake. You know, it’s good to see teammates actually get along and like each other. And we have a lot of that going on. But those two brought that here. They brought that to us, and it’s nice to have on the team.”
The larger-than-life Marjanovic, a Serbian nicknamed “Bobi,” bounced around in Europe before the San Antonio Spurs brought him into the NBA as a 27-year-old rookie in 2015. Since then, he’s put up efficient numbers and showed surprising skill in limited court time. The 6-9 Harris, by contrast, has used his versatile skill set to become a primary scoring option.
Harris, 26, a seven-year veteran out of Tennessee, has tried to show Marjanovic dance moves, to mixed success.
“I would say he has more personality than myself, but to the root of it, I think we both have the same type of qualities and want to better ourselves as people but also impact others around us,” said Harris “Just a very easy, humble guy. Everybody gets along with Boban. I just happened to be in a trade with him and be around him even more. But he’s a great friend.”
Marjanovic had never been to Hawaii until this week. He was awed by the landscape’s bright colors from the moment he landed.
“It was like, when we land, wow, this really exists,” he said. “Because you can never tell. Small islands, eight hours from Japan, six and a half from L.A. It’s nice how it really exists. It’s perfect. It’s like, I can live here.” He laughed. “This is my impression about everything. Of course, we must focus on basketball, this is main stuff.”