Father-son duos in the NBA are special, though of late, it has become not that uncommon. Ron Harper’s son Dylan is the latest second-gen athlete to step foot into the league when the San Antonio Spurs open their season against the Dallas Mavericks. And a lot of the questions he has been answering in the build-up to his debut have been about his father.
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A five-time NBA champ, Ron Harper played for four different teams, sharing the locker room with some of the best hoopers of all time. The highlight of his career has to be playing with Michael Jordan on the Chicago Bulls, or perhaps even his battles against the icon when he was on rival rosters.
The highlight is Ron vs MJ, even for Dylan, who admitted that although he doesn’t know too much about his dad’s peak basketball days, he never forgot those games against Jordan. Ahead of Spurs vs. Mavericks, Dylan was asked whether any of his dad’s performances stood out in his mind.
“Nah, he [is] a little too old for my understanding,” Dylan stated. “But definitely, I mean, I’ve seen clips like, highlights on YouTube where he [was] playing against Jordan in those playoff battles.”
Ron Harper vs. Michael Jordan was a matchup that has not been as frequently discussed, but was pivotal in both men’s career trajectories. Yes, they won three championships as teammates in Chicago, but before that, when Ron was at the Cavaliers, there were some interesting playoff matchups.
Out of all those who tried to guard Jordan, it was Ron who made him work the hardest. Those tussles arguably made Ron a better player, which is why even after his success in Chicago, another championship-seeking team, the Lakers, snapped him up in 1999.
That’s where he won two more championships, taking his total ring collection to five. When asked if he sees the rings all the time, son Dylan said that they have a place of pride in the house.
“I mean, he got five of them… You walk in [the house], you see them right away,” revealed Dylan.
The championships and famous tussles did not elevate Ron to the GOAT realms Jordan occupies in the game. It possibly had something to do with the place the two players had in their respective rosters. At least, that’s what Ron believes.
Difference between Ron and Jordan
Ron understood His Airness better than most players in the 1990s. The main difference between him and Jordan? MJ had the freedom to do pretty much whatever he wanted on the hardcourt.
“When I played against MJ, he always gave me my respect, and I always gave him his. But he had the ultimate green light,” said Ron in an interview with SLAM.
“I always had guys on my teams who were great, too… So it’s not like I could shoot as much as him. I’m not saying if I did shoot as much as him, what would have happened,” he added, before revealing how in games where MJ scored 35, he finished with around 10 less.
That’s why Ron knew that to win, his teammates would have to outscore Jordan.
