How Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanović Went from a Rocky First Impression to NBA BFFs (Exclusive)

Before they were known as Tobi and Bobi, NBA players and current best friends Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanović had a rocky start.

“My first impression was that he wasn’t such a nice guy,” Harris, 31, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive joint interview with former teammate Marjanovic, 35, who he initially heard was “the hottest guy ever.”

The athletes met in 2016 while playing for the Detroit Pistons, and Haris says the first words Marjanović said to him were “I don’t like you.”

Marjanović, a 2-meter-tall center who now plays for the Houston Rockets, admits that this is how their relationship actually began. “We started playing a pick-up game and I said he didn’t want to pass me the ball,” he says.

Then we were in the dressing room and I said ‘Tobijas, I don’t like you’, and he got confused,’ recalls Marjanović. “I may have been wrong then, but talking is the best way to figure it out.”

After the boys met, Marjanović says they discovered many common interests and began to develop “that energy of friendship”.

Boban Marjanović #51 and Tobias Harris #33 of the Philadelphia 76ers pose for a portrait on February 7, 2019 at the Philadelphia 76ers practice facility in Camden, New Jersey.

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty

Harris says they were “cool” the next day and agrees it came down to communication on and off the field.

“I think it was funny because you always hear these stories about how he’s the best guy ever. And one of my conversations is him telling me he doesn’t like me. So I’m like, ‘Damn, what’s going on?’ ‘ And then from there he hit me in the head, it’s just a communication thing”, he explains, responding to Marjanović’s “first and direct” nature.

The player adds: “And it was so funny because the next day we were already really good friends.”

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In 2018, both Harris and Marjanović were traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, which further strengthened their relationship and ultimately, among NBA fans, they are best branded as the duo of Bobi and Tobi.

“We had a very close team in Detroit, so we all hung out and that made our friendship stronger. And when we got traded, it made our friendship even stronger,” Harris says.

Although Harris currently plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, miles away from his best friend, he says Marjanovic is now “like family.”

“He knows my family, my brothers, my sisters and everybody else. So everybody looks at Bobby, even in my family, like we’re all family at the end of the day,” says Harris, who married his longtime love, Jasmine Winton, last year. .

Tobias Harris #12 of the Philadelphia 76ers dribbles the ball against Boban Marjanovic #51 of the Dallas Mavericks in the second quarter at the Wells Fargo Center on December 20, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mitchell Leff/Getty

Marjanović was unable to attend the ceremony due to his commitment to play basketball for his team in Serbia, but Harris told PEOPLE that the Eastern European athlete’s wife, Milica Krstić, was in attendance without him.

“Bobby couldn’t attend because he was playing, but his wife was able to be there and it really showed that our friendship, like our wives’ friendship, is bigger than basketball or some of the things we do for social media,” he says, adding, ” And that’s always been our whole deal.”

Bobi and Tobi’s fan base grew when they started starring together in commercials for Pepperidge Farm Goldfish.

As the new NBA season approaches, the guys are back with the popular snack brand and are offering students a chance to win a big bag of “Bobana-sized” Goldfish crackers delivered straight to their campus addresses. The unique bags are more than a foot tall and hold 2,000 goldfish, enough for a semester of snacking.

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In addition to the giveaway, the new campaign follows Boban as he shows how a handful of goldfish can bring a smile to universal college moments, such as getting along and meeting new roommates.

Harris estimates they could finish one of Goldfish’s “Bobana-sized” bags in just a few hours, “knowing how me and Bobi eat,” he jokes, before cautioning, “We don’t recommend anyone do that, though.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education