Cleveland Cavaliers: Top 30 all-time greatest players
By Ben Beecken
player. 156. <ul> <li>4 seasons with Cavaliers (1986-89)</li> <li>Averaged 19.4 points and 5.1 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game</li> </ul>. SG. . Ron Harper. 26
Before heading to the Clippers and ultimately making a name for himself while winning three rings with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls and two rings with the Los Angeles Lakers in the twilight of his career, Ron Harper spent the first three-plus years of a 15-year career in Cleveland.
Harper was the eighth-overall selection in the 1986 draft by the Cavaliers, and immediately made an impact, winning two Rookie of the Month awards and being named to the All-Rookie First Team in 1986-87. He started all 82 games while averaging 22.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.5 steals per contest but lost out to Indiana’s Chuck Person, who helped lead the Pacers to 41 wins and a playoff berth while the Cavs stumbled to just 31 wins.
Harper only appeared in 57 games in his second season however, although the Cavaliers made the postseason. He had a bounce-back year in 1988-89, as Cleveland went 57-25 behind his 18.6 points per game, but the Cavs once again lost in the first round come playoff time.
He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers just seven games into the 1989-90 season, and by 1994 was in Chicago where he would enjoy playing on a series of dominant teams before finishing up with the Lakers from 1999-2001.