Cleveland Cavaliers: Top 15 draft picks in franchise history

Ron Harper was drafted by the Cavaliers with the 8th pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. In his three and a half seasons, Harper failed to lead the team in win shares, but he did prove to be a dynamic scoring option.

Believe it or not, Harper averaged 22.9 points per game his rookie season, a feat LeBron James couldn’t even match. Harper is just one of 28 players to average over 22 points their rookie season and just one of eight to do so since the start of the 1980s.

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Somehow Harper did this without having a reliable jump shot, failing to ever average over 0.5 threes per game as a Cavalier. It’s hard to imagine a player doing that without a three-point shot in the modern-day NBA.

Harper and Mark Price led the Cavaliers to two playoffs berths. With all five averaging double figures, the throwback lineup of Brad Daugherty, Larry Nance Sr., Price, Harper, and Hot Rod Williams is often times forgotten but is certainly one of the best to ever suit up for the Cavaliers.

That lineup led the Cavaliers to a 57-25 record, the franchise’s best win percentage until LeBron James’ sixth season in the league where he led a Cavaliers team to a 66-16 record.

Harper could have been a Cleveland legend had he stayed. His just three and a half seasons managed to get him in the top-15, but he could have potentially been in the top-five had he stayed in the Land.