Ron Harper

At 60 years old, Ron Harper has this physical status:

Ronald Harper (born January 20, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player and five-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion.

Between 1986 and 2001, he played for four clubs in the NBA.

Early life

Harper was born in Dayton, Ohio, and he grew up. Ron and his twin brother were the youngest of six children raised in a single-parent household by their mother. She held many jobs to assist the family, including as a classroom instructor and on a assembly line at a GM plant.

He first attended Belmont High School in Dayton, but was dropped from the freshman squad and did not participate as a sophomore. He later graduated to Kiser High School in Dayton, where he had a total of 20.5 points, 13.4 rebounds, five assists, five steals, and six blocked shots and was named first-team All-Ohio. In 1982, he graduated from Kiser.

The Kiser High School complex is now an elementary school. Harper attended a ceremony in 2006 where the school's gymnasium was named for him.

Personal life

Harper has suffered with stuttering for the majority of his life, and he donates his time to the National Stuttering Association to encourage others with the disorder not to let it discourage them.

Harper is the father of NBA player Ron Harper Jr. and Don Bosco Prep high school basketball player Dylan Harper. He is R. J.'s godfather. Hunter is a gregar.

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College career

Harper appeared at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, for four seasons from 1982–85.

Harper, a freshman, averaged 12.8 points per game and led Miami in rebounding with 7.0 per game as the team went 13-15. As Miami went 24–6 and captured the Mid-American Conference championship, the MAC tournament championship, and a spot in the NCAA tournament as a sophomore, he led the team in scoring with 16.3 points per game and in rebounding with 7.6 per game.

He set personal records and led the team in 24.9 and 10.7 rebounds per game as a junior, as well as leading in steals with 2.6 per game. As the team went 20-11-11, finished second in the MAC, and secured a spot in the NCAA tournament, he was named MAC Player of the Year.

He set both a Miami and a MAC tournament single-game scoring record of 45 points in one game (as well as snaring 18 rebounds) in his senior season on March 8, 1985. His scoring average of 24.9 per game is his second all-time at Miami behind Fred Foster's 26.8 in 1967–68. With 11.7 per game, as well as assists (4.3) and thefts (3.3), he led the team in rebounding. With 38 points, 19 rebounds, and 12 assists against Ball State University, he became the first MAC player to record a triple-double.

He was named MAC Player of the Year and later selected second-team All-American by both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI). Miami defeated the MAC championship by 24-7 and secured a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Harper is Miami's all-time leading scorer with 2,377 points, as well as a 1,119 in rebounding. He was the first male defender in the MAC to score 2,000 points and gain 1,000 rebounds in a career. He has also set a record for career scoring average (19.8), started (118), field goals (969), and blocked shots (173) in Miami. He had a career field goal percentage of.53 percent.

He became the first basketball player in Miami to have his number (34) retired at his last home game in 1986.

Professional career

The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Harper in the first round (eighth overall) in the 1986 NBA draft. Harper made his NBA debut on November 1, 1986. He scored 30 points in just his sixth game against the Sacramento Kings on November 11, 1986. He scored a season-high 40 points against the Boston Celtics on February 4, 1987, and he had one of his best all-around games against the New York Knicks on February 10, 1987, with 25 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, and five steals.

Harper played in all 82 games and averaged 22.9 points per game (ppg) and 4.8 rebounds per game (rpg), as well as 4.8 assists and 2.5 steals. In the Rookie of the Year balloting, he came in second, behind Chuck Person of the Indiana Pacers.

He was limited to 57 games in his second season due to a strained ankle injury in the second game of the season that kept him out until late December. He played 15.4 ppg for the season. The Cavaliers made the playoffs, but the Chicago Bulls had them beat the Cleveland Bulls, three games to two.

He began all 82 games, average 18.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 5.3 assists, and 2.3 steals, bringing the Cavaliers' first round to two, this time with a one-point defeat in game 5 on the Cavaliers' home court, the now-defunct Richfield Coliseum. The Shot ended this game.

Harper was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in his fourth season, 1989–90, after seven games with the Cavaliers, on November 16, 1989, the latter having declined to play for the Clippers.

Harper appeared in all 28 games for the Clippers, but his season was cut short due to a serious right knee injury sustained in a game in January 1990. He was diagnosed with both a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn cartilage.

He made 22.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 5.2 assists, 2.3 steals, and a career-high 1.2 blocks per game during the 1989-1990s. In December 1989, the Clippers won back-to-back 39-point games against Denver and Indiana, the Clippers' most popular feat.

He was restricted to 39 games in 1990–91, but he maintained 19.6 ppg and 4.8 rpg, as well as 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals.

He bounced back to start all 82 games, averaging 18.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.1 assists, and 1.9 steals in 1991–92, his sixth NBA season. The Clippers advanced to the playoffs, where they were defeated three games to two by the Utah Jazz in the playoffs.

Harper was named as a co-captain between 1992 and 1993 (alongside Danny Manning and Mark Jackson). Harper's averaged 18.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.5 assists, and 2.2 steals in 80 games (77 as a rookie). Harper's team was eliminated in the first round, this time by three games to two by the Houston Rockets, but the Clippers were once more favored in the playoffs.

In 1993–94, he appeared in 66 games, his fourth full season with the Clippers and eighth in the NBA, with averaging 20.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 4.6 assists, and 1.9 steals. In a victory over the Dallas Mavericks on March 11, 1994, he recorded a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and ten assists, as well as six steals. In a victory over the Golden State Warriors two nights later, he came close to replicating the feat, with 39 points, 11 rebounds, and six steals.

Harper signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago Bulls on September 15, 1994, who were reloading following Michael Jordan's first return to action. Following Jordan's return to the Bulls, Harper found his niche as a fan favorite by reinventing himself as a great perimeter defender, ball handler, and mid-range scorer.

Harper played 53 of the 77 games he played in Chicago, 1994–95, but his minutes fell to 19.9 per game and he averaged a low of 6.9 ppg. Harper's team advanced to the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career, as the Bulls defeated the Charlotte Hornets three games to one before losing to the Orlando Magic four games to two in the conference semifinals.

Harper's playing time increased to 23.6 minutes per game and his scoring average to 7.4 ppg in 1995-96, his 10th NBA season. The Bulls had a record-breaking season as the team, coached by Phil Jackson, and led by Jordan and Scottie Pippen, with Harper playing a crucial role. They then defeated the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic in the first three rounds of the playoffs, winning their fourth NBA championship four games to two over the Seattle SuperSonics.

He appeared in 76 games from 1996 to 1997, beginning with 74 games and averaging 6.3 ppg. The Bulls defeated the Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, and Miami Heat in the first three rounds of the playoffs, winning their fifth NBA championship, this time four games to two over the Utah Jazz.

Harper's 12th NBA season began with 82 games for the Bulls, up from 27.9 per game to 9.3 ppg, with his scoring average up to 9.3 ppg. In the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Bulls defeated the New Jersey Nets, Charlotte Hornets, and Indiana Pacers, advancing to their sixth NBA championship, winning their sixth NBA championship and second over the Utah Jazz in a regular-season record of 62-20.

Harper played his last season with the Bulls during the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season. The Bulls floundered to a 13-37 record after Michael Jordan's second retirement, as well as Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman's death. Harper appeared in 35 games, with some of them starting all of them. With 11.2 ppg, he came in second place on the team.

He played for about 25 minutes per game during his five seasons with the Bulls, averaging between 6.3 and 11.2 ppg during those seasons.

After being released by the Bulls prior to the 1999–2000 season, he and his former Bulls coach, Phil Jackson, agreed to a two-year deal as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers and their former Bulls coach, Chris Jackson.

Harper played the same role as the Bulls in the 1999–2000 season, averaging 7.0 ppg and finishing second in steals behind Kobe Bryant. The Lakers, led by Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, won 67 games and set the league's highest record, beating the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, and Portland Trail Blazers in the first three rounds of the playoffs. Harper received a pass from Bryant in the left corner and sank a 19-foot jump shot with 29.9 seconds remaining to put the Lakers up by 93-91. Harper helped Bryant stop a shot by Arvydas Sabonis to win the Lakers' 2-0 victory on the final play of the game. To set up a match with the Indiana Pacers in the Finals, the Lakers will win the series in seven games. Bryant strained his ankle and left the game in game 2. Harper and Glen Rice combined for 21 points apiece to help the Lakers take a 2–0 lead. The Lakers will prevail in the NBA championship over the Pacers' four games to two. Harper appeared in all 23 games in the postseason and averaged 8.6 points per game, his fourth NBA championship title.

Harper's 15th and final NBA season came in 2000–2001. Injuries limited him to 47 games (starting 46). Derek Fisher had taken over the starting point guard position by season's end, but Harper would only play in six games during the playoffs. The Lakers advanced to the Finals, where they met the Philadelphia 76ers. Following the Sixers' victory in game 1, the Lakers won games 2 and 3. Harper made crucial shots on his way to eight points in game 4, his highest point total for the series. The Lakers won their second straight NBA title after winning games 4 and 5. Harper's fifth NBA championship appearance in less than a six-year career.

Coaching career

Harper was hired as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons in 2005. In 2007, his two-year contract was not renewed.

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