Ronald "Ron" Harper (born January 20, 1964 in Dayton, Ohio) is a retired American professional basketball player whose career spanned from 1986 to 2001 with four teams in the NBA. At 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), his position was shooting guard/point guard.

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Collegiate career

Harper starred at Miami University in Ohio, where his high flying playing style drew rousing comparisons to Julius Erving. Harper averaged 24.3 points per game, 11.2 rebounds per game, 3.2 steals per game, and 2.4 blocked shots per game. [1]

[edit] NBA

[edit] Cleveland Cavaliers (1987-89)

After Harper's collegiate basketball career he was selected 8th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1986 NBA Draft. He averaged 22.9 points per game in his rookie season, placing second in Rookie of the Year balloting.^[1] After initially spending 3 seasons with the Cavaliers, Harper was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for Danny Ferry. He also played for the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he finished his career. Harper went on to win five NBA championships in his 15 year career, three with the Chicago Bulls, and two with the Lakers.

[edit] Los Angeles Clippers (1989-94)

While with the Clippers Harper sustained a knee injury which robbed him of much of his speed and jumping ability, though he averaged just under 2 steals per game which still remains a team record.

[edit] Chicago Bulls (1994-99) and Los Angeles Lakers (1999-2001)

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 defender and jump shooter. With the return of Jordan in late 1995, Harper remained a key component of the Bulls' perimeter defense and a third scoring option on offense. He became a fan favorite in Chicago. Although he suffered an injury late in the Bulls' record-setting 72-win season in 1996, he returned to the starting lineup for the final game of the 1996 NBA Finals.

He was a mainstay of five of Phil Jackson's ten championship teams, following Jackson to Los Angeles to win two more championships (after winning 3 with the Bulls). Along with Harper, Dennis Rodman and Robert Horry are the only players to win consecutive NBA Championships with each of two different teams.^[2]

[edit] Coaching career

In 2005, Harper signed as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons.^[1] His two-year deal was not renewed in 2007.^[3]

[edit] Media appearance

On November 1, 1997, Ron Harper appeared in the Nickelodeon sitcom Kenan & Kel, in the episode titled "Foul Bull". In the episode, Harper, as a Chicago Bull, slips on some orange soda and gets injured, and all of Chicago is angry with Kenan & Kel, who try to apologize.

[edit] See also

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

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