Ron Harper

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This article is about a basketball player. For the actor, see Ron Harper (actor).

Ronald Harper (born January 20, 1964 in Dayton, Ohio) is a former professional basketball player whose career spanned from 1986 to 2001 with four teams in the National Basketball Association. At 6' 6" (1.98 m), his position was shooting guard/point guard swingman.

After attending Miami University, he was selected 8th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1986 NBA Draft, averaging 22.9 points per game in his rookie season. After initially spending 3 seasons at the Cavaliers, he would later play for the Los Angeles Clippers, the Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers where he finished his career. He won five championships in his career, three with the Bulls and two with the Lakers.

A talented scorer with great leaping ability, Harper was considered a "poor man's Michael Jordan". While a Clipper, a knee injury robbed him of much of his speed and jumping ability though he averaged 1.9934 steals per game which still remains a team record. In 1994, he signed a lucrative free agent deal with the Bulls, who were rebuilding following the initial retirement of Michael Jordan. After his first tumultuous season in Chicago, he reinvented himself as a lockdown defender and standstill jump shooter. He was a mainstay of Phil Jackson's last five championship teams, following Jackson to Los Angeles to win two more championships.

In 2005, he signed as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons, under head coach Flip Saunders.

Ron Harper has been immortalized on the Oxford, Ohio campus of Miami University. A local restaurant, Lottie Moon's, serves the Ron Harper All-Star Burger, a cheeseburger topped with a fried egg, as a tribute to Harper.

Contents 1 Teams and years 2 Statistics 3 Trivia 4 External links

[edit] Teams and years

• Cleveland Cavaliers (1986-1989)
• Los Angeles Clippers (1989-1994)
• Chicago Bulls (1994-1999)
• Los Angeles Lakers (1999-2001)

[edit] Statistics

• Games played - 1009 (83rd on NBA Career List)
• Minutes Played - 31,199 (86th on NBA Career List)
• Field goal % - .446
• Free throw % - .720
• Three-point % - .289
• Rebounds - 4309
• Rebounds per game - 4.3
• Assists - 3916 (86th on NBA Career List)
• Assist per game - 3.9
• Steals - 1716 (17th on NBA Career List)
• Steals per game - 1.7 (51st on NBA Career List)
• Blocks - 726
• Points per game - 13.8
• Points - 13910

[edit] Trivia

• Nicknamed "Harp" during his career.
• During the 1995-96 Finals against the Supersonics he matched up against Gary Payton, known as "The Glove" for his tight coverage on defense. The press tried but failed to label Harper "The Mitten" He resisted, saying if the press wanted to call him something, it could be "The Straitjacket."
• Speaks with a mild stutter, which was more severe during childhood.
• Appeared on an episode of Kenan and Kel.
• Never played in the NBA All-Star-Game, although he was one of the most respected guards of his generation.
• Mentioned in the Big L song "Deadly Combination".

[edit] External links

• Career Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
• NBA.com player file