Ron Harper played with Michael Jordon during the second 3-peat of the Chicago Bulls championship run. Some compared him with Michael Jordan in his starting years in the league.
Advertisement
Ron Harper was one of the vital role players in the Chicago Bulls squad from 1994-1999. After the first retirement of Michael Jordan, Harper was signed by the Bulls to assist their then main guy Scottie Pippen.
Later that role changed, even more, when Jordon decided to return to the NBA in 1995. Before that, Harper had his fair share of playing against Michael in his early years in the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was known to guard the opponent’s best player and score well at the same time, including Jordan.
When Ron was asked if he ever beat MJ one-on-one, he replied, ” Oh Yeah. Mike, you know I gave you the business. You know me”.
“The guy that played me better was Ron Harper”, Michael Jordan
Compared to the years in Cleveland, Harper was a different player when he played with Mike. Ron was drafted 8th overall by the Cavaliers in the 1986 NBA Draft. That year’s scouting reports suggested that he was probably the most athletic player in that draft.
Despite averaging 22.9 points and 4.8 assists, Harper could not win the Rookie of the year trophy. Due to his athletic plays and defence against guards, he was compared to Jordan. But due to a knee injury in 1990 (with LA Clippers), Harper lost his explosiveness.
After that, Ron became a different player. Later, his new playing style complimented the trio of the Bulls. He became their perimeter defender, ball-handler and mid-range scorer. His defensive ability alongside 3 Defensive player of the year teammates, became a nightmare for the opposing teams.
While talking about his famous Buzzer beater against Cleveland in the 1989 playoffs, Jordan said “they had Craig Ehlo guarding me at that time, which was a mistake; Because the guy that played me better was Ron Harper”. It is pretty evident that they respected each other as teammates as well as opponents.
