The three Harris brothers, Tobias, Tyler and Terry, were inspired by their oldest sister, Tesia.
That’s the irony of this Long Island basketball tale that could end in a few years with the three Harris brothers of Dix Hills becoming the fifth brother trio to each play in the NBA.
There have been more than 50 brother tandems, but just four brother trifectas — the Barrys, Russells, Joneses and Zellers.
“I definitely believe that’s going to happen,” father Torrel Harris said of his three sons making NBA history. “They deserve it. They work so hard.”
Torrel, a former Duquesne guard, is an ex-agent who had George Gervin, the original Cliff Robinson and the first female Harlem Globetrotter, Lynette Woodard, as clients.
Now, Torrel advises and trains his children, who all have worked with the Hall of Famer Gervin.
But it all starts with their sister.
“She was the first one to go Division I,” Magic forward Tobias Harris told The Post. “She was recruited since she was a freshman and it opened my eyes. That’s what I wanted to do. She set an example for us.”
He is already in the league, the 6-foot-9 emerging combo forward for Orlando who earlier this week competed for the U.S. Select Team, practicing against Team USA in Las Vegas.
Tobias, who turned 22 in July, caught the eye of USA basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo.
“He is one who has really surprised me. I have not seen much of him and he’s been very impressive,” Colangelo told the Magic’s website of the former Tennessee product.
“I thought it went great,” Tobias said. “An opportunity to play against some of the best players. I embraced that type of challenge.”
Earlier this offseason, Tobias scrimmaged a handful of times against Carmelo Anthony at Melo’s Terminal 23 gym near the Garden. The two went mano-a-mano.
“It was 5-on-5, but he was the guy I was going against,” Tobias said. “It was great to go against someone like that to work on the things I’ve incorporated into my game against a guy like that. He looked good, too.”
Then there is the 6-foot-9 Tyler, who after transferring from NC State, enters his sophomore year at Providence.
His father predicts Tyler will declare for the draft after this season, as he should have a bigger a role. The reigning Big East champs have lost several impact players.
However, one Western Conference scout cautioned: “[Tyler] thinks he’s a shooting guard and he’s not. He’s a forward. I’ve known Torrel for a long time, and he says Tyler is more skilled than Tobias. But Tobias is a tougher kid mentally and physically than Tyler was at the same stage.”
Finally, there’s Terry, whom the father claims is the best of his sons. Terry Harris, 17, graduated Half Hollow Hills in June but will spend a year at prep school.
“The father’s been saying he’ll be the best for a long time,’’ said Half Hollow Hills coach Bill Mitaritonna, who coached all three Harrises. “They’re all excellent players.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they all made it. Those kids work. It’s unbelievable how much they devote to basketball. They’re a great role model to the kids out there.”
Said Tobias: “In the summers we all work out with each other and it would be an achievement for me, too, if they made it. I know that’s their goal and they see how I got there with hard work.”
And that’s where the 6-foot Tesia enters. She started the 5:30 a.m. workouts her brothers would copy. Tesia was a high school superstar recruited by the top Division I women’s programs, winding up at Delaware and then St. John’s.
In 2012, she was part of the winningest women’s team in St. John’s history, making the Sweet 16.
“My oldest son, Torrel Jr., didn’t want to work. When the basketball season was over with, he was done with it,” his father said. “Tesia worked. She actually set the bar for them. Every school in the country recruited her. The boys were like, ‘You’re my sister and every school in the country is recruiting you. I got to do better.’”
Tesia played a year of professional ball in Slovakia before becoming an assistant coach last season at New York Institute of Technology. Now she’s closing in a Division I assistant-coaching job.
“My father says I set the standard,” Tesia said. “If they continue to work, I think chances are high they’ll all be in the NBA. That’s their goal. I believe my two younger brothers can make the NBA. No reason why not.”
During a 45-minute interview, Torrel used the word “lightbulb” metaphorically a dozen times in referring to his three sons. As in: “Tobias’ lightbulb went on at the end of his junior year of high school. Tyler, it went on at the end of his senior year.
“Terry’s hasn’t went on yet. He’s scoring, averaged 25 points the last two seasons, and was all-Long Island first-team. But the lightbulb hasn’t switched on yet. When it goes on, that’s when everybody is going to be like: ‘Wow.’”
How does the light bulb analogy equate to hoops?
“The lightbulb means playing the game without really knowing what you’re actually doing,” Torrel Harris said. “Terry’s instincts are taking over. When the lightbulb goes on, now you really know what the heck you’re doing. You got that swagger. Terry has so much potential, greater than the other two.”
According to his father, Tobias’ lightbulb turned on at an AAU event, the Pittsburgh Jam Fest.
Tobias drove the left side of the court, rose up and dunked on three players.
“After that it was over,” Torrel said. “He was like a beast.”
Tyler’s bulb lit up at the AAU’s Rumble in the Bronx after his senior year, when he buried a jumper from the deep corner.
“He stuck his hand out like he knew it’s going in,” Torrel said. “He got almost 40. After the shot went in, he kept getting better. He was just going though the motions like Terry is now.
“It’s up to Terry. You know when you’re the guy. You want the ball to shoot it at the last moment.
That bulb hasn’t gone on yet. It will go on.”
The decision has been made for him to attend a prep school before going Division I to get bigger, stronger and seasoned.
Bridgton Academy in Maine, Montverde Academy in Orlando and IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., are among the possibilities.
The list of colleges that recruited Terry didn’t wow him — St. John’s, South Florida, St. Joseph’s, Houston and Central Florida.
With his excellent grades — a 3.8 GPA and 1,720 SAT score — Harvard also has been after Terry.
“Terry is more the shooting guard of the three — the best outside shooter,” Mitaritonna said. “If I had them on the same team, they’d play the 2-3-4.”
In the 2009-10 season, Terry was called up from junior varsity for the playoffs and the three were united on the Half Hollow Hills varsity.
“Parents come up and ask me how we’ve done it,” Torrel said. “It’s a blessing when your kids want it. The thing about it is they want it. It was Tobias’ dream, Tyler’s dream and Terry’s dream, too. Sometimes they work out four times a day. They all have potential to be in the NBA because they want it.”