Somewhere between 11.7 rebounds per game at Miami University and three championship rings at point guard with the Chicago Bulls, Ron Harper’s career took a dramatic twist.

In an attempt to determine exactly when or where said twist occurred, one must take a good long look at perhaps the most overlooked career of perhaps the game’s best generation. Simply put, the statistical comparisons to a slightly more modest Dwyane Wade are better than you think. This, of course, deserves your respect.

Crack that same nutshell open however, and unveil a devastating knee injury that stripped the once incredibly athletic Harper of his ability to fill stat sheets like a grocery cart. But - and here’s where things get interesting - even though the injury induced a 25% drop in Harper’s PER, a closer look into the bowels of early-90s basketball history reveals that the man went on to average 18+ points per game over the course of his final three years as a Los Angeles Clipper.

Flashback to June 1986. Drafted eighth overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers is Ohio native and Miami University graduate Ron Harper. Fresh off a senior year that saw the 6′6″ athlete erupt for 24.4 points per game, the aforementioned 11.7 rebounds and an optimistically well-rounded 4.3 assists, 3.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game, Harper looked poised to help a struggling Cavaliers team in his first season in the NBA.

As a pro, swingman Harper’s godlike big man numbers leveled out to a more reasonable 4.8 rebounds and one block per game, but his 22.9 points per contest were enough to warrant runner up status in Rookie of the Year voting (thank you Chuck Person).

Though the offensive mark would go on to be the highest of his career, Harper continued to prove himself - first in Cleveland and soon after in Los Angeles - as a legitimate scoring threat for the bulk of his professional career. At least until signing with the then-Michael Jordanless Chicago Bulls in time for the 1994-95 season.

Even with Jordan out of the mix, Harper never quite picked up where he left off in a Clippers uniform. All, however, was quickly forgotten when the man found himself the token big point guard in coach Phil Jackson’s triangle offense.

With Jackson and assistant coach Tex Winter’s insistence on running the offense through a good-sized quarterback, Harper was once again in high demand, less for his ability to score or rebound well from the wings and more for his ability to mold his game alongside a recently unretired Jordan and small forward Scottie Pippen.

Younger fans may remember Harper for his brief stint with coach Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers, where he became one of five NBA players to have won multiple championships with multiple teams (or even for his recent role as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons), but older fans may instead recall the blossoming stud derailed in the midst of a promising prime.

Whether the name Ron Harper triggers your own memories of the Jordan Era Bulls Dynasty, a college phenom with statlines capable of making perennial all-star centers blush, or simply just a young athlete contributing mightily to a pair of teams at a time when they needed it most, make sure to take the extra time to acknowledge everything else he was in between.

Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media

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