Derek Ricardo Harper (born October 13, 1961) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. A second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, he was the 11th overall pick of the 1983 NBA draft and spent 16 seasons as a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

, and

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. Harper is widely regarded as one of the best players to never have been selected to an All-Star game.

College

After graduating from Roosevelt Junior High School and then North Shore High School in

West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

, Harper played three seasons for the

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The university operates a number of athletic fac ...

and coach Lou Henson having his best season in 1982–1983, when he led the Fighting Illini in scoring with 15.4 points per game. Harper was named First-Team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

and Second-Team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n in 1983, and was Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in both 1981 and 1982. Harper averaged 4.7 assists per game for his collegiate career, and led the

in assists in the 1981–1982 season. Harper was elected to the " Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004.

Professional career

Dallas Mavericks (1983–1993)

At 6 ft 4 in, Harper was drafted by the

with the 11th overall pick of the 1983 NBA draft. He spent his first ten seasons with them, averaging 15 points and 6.1 assists. For almost the entire time in his first stint with the team, he was part of the starting backcourt tandem with All-Star

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

Rolando Blackman. The Mavericks made the playoffs 6 out of the 10 years of Harper's tenure with the team, and they made it to the Western Conference Finals in the 1987–1988 season, but they were never able to replicate that success for any other season of Harper's time in Dallas. He had multiple seasons of averaging well over 10 PPG, and became known for being both a great scorer and defender. His best season came in 1990–1991 where he averaged 19.7 PPG. But he still wasn't selected to be an all star and the Mavericks finished that year with an unpleasant 28–54 record. Harper still played well for the rest of his time in Dallas, but the team was atrocious. In the 1992–1993 season especially, the Mavericks finished 11–71 which is one of the worst records of all time. Harper spent 2 more seasons with the Mavericks before leaving the team during the 1993–1994 season. Harper, JJ Redick, and

DeAndre Jordan Hyland DeAndre Jordan Jr. (born July 21, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball ...

are currently the only players in NBA history to increase their season scoring average for eight consecutive seasons. Harper did it with the Mavericks from 1983–84 to 1990–91.

New York Knicks (1993–1996)

Harper was traded to the

(where he was reunited with Blackman) 28 games into the 1993–94 season. The Knicks were looking for a defensive point guard to replace the injured

Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An NBA player for 14 seasons, he was an NB ...

, who was sidelined for the rest of the season. The shift sent him from a team that finished 13–69 to being an integral part of one that came within one game of winning the 1994 NBA Championship. His stats declined as he had to adjust to having less of an individual role, but his best season with the Knicks came in his last year with the team where he averaged 14.0 PPG. On July 14, 1996, he was released by the Knicks and became a free agent.

Return to Dallas (1996–1997)

Harper returned to Dallas after signing with the Mavericks on July 26. In his return he averaged 10.0 PPG and 4.3 APG. He played well at the age of 35 but the Mavericks were still a bad team, finishing the season with only 24 wins. This would be the final season that he would play for the Mavericks.

Orlando Magic (1997–1998)

Harper was traded by the Mavericks with

Ed O'Bannon Edward Charles O'Bannon Jr. (born August 14, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a power forward (basketball), power forward for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Br ...

to the

for Dennis Scott and cash. He played one season for the Magic, his scoring and overall play dropped off but he was still a solid bench player. The Magic had a decent roster but the team was very old. 16 out of the 22 players on the roster were either 30 years old or older, Harper was one of those 16 players (he was 36 at the time). The team had an average record of 41–41 and missed the playoffs. Harper's contract expired in the 1998 offseason and he left the team.

Los Angeles Lakers (1999)

Harper signed as a free agent with the

. The Lakers were a great team and had a young

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

and

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

leading the way. They made the playoffs and it was the first time Harper had reached the playoffs since 1996 with the Knicks. The Lakers made it to the second round but got swept by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. This would be the final year of Harper's career.

Retirement

In the 1999 offseason, the Lakers traded Harper to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, but he didn't report to the team. He retired from the NBA shortly after. On December 18, 2017, the Mavericks announced that they were planning to retire Harper's no. 12 jersey, which was eventually retired on January 7, 2018.

Personal life

Harper lives in Dallas with his family. His daughter Dana Harper was a contestant on season 11 of '' The Voice''. He is now a game analyst for the Dallas Mavericks on their locally broadcast games. Beginning in fall 2005, he was the weekend sports anchor at KTXA serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex until the station ended its newscasts. The Dallas Mavericks retired Harper's #12 jersey during halftime of a game between the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, January 7, 2018.

Honors

Basketball

* 1981 – Honorable Mention All-

* 1982 – Honorable Mention All-Big Ten * 1983 – Team Captain * 1983 – Team MVP * 1983 – 1st Team All-Big Ten * 1983 – 2nd Team All-American * 2004 – Elected to the " Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team". * 2008 – Honored as one of the 33 honored jerseys which hang in the

State Farm Center The State Farm Center is a large dome-shaped 15,544-seat indoor arena located in Champaign, Illinois, owned and operated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The arena hosts games for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, ...

to show regard for being the most decorated basketball players in the University of Illinois' history. * 2018 – Dallas Mavericks #12 jersey retired

College statistics

NBA career statistics

Harper played in 1,199 regular season games in his career, tying him for 35th in NBA history (as of the 2013–14 NBA season). He retired having the 11th-most steals and the 17th-most assists in NBA history. He is also the Mavericks' career leader in those categories.

Regular season

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Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 82 , , 1 , , 20.9 , , .443 , , .115 , , .673 , , 2.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 1 , , 27.0 , , .520 , , .344 , , .721 , , 2.4 , , 4.4 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 39 , , 27.2 , , .534 , , .235 , , .747 , , 2.9 , , 5.3 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 76 , , 33.2 , , .501 , , .358 , , .684 , , 2.6 , , 7.9 , , 2.2 , , .3 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 37.0 , , .459 , , .313 , , .759 , , 3.0 , , 7.7 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 36.6 , , .477 , , .356 , , .806 , , 2.8 , , 7.0 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 36.7 , , .488 , , .371 , , .794 , , 3.0 , , 7.4 , , 2.3 , , .3 , , 18.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 77 , , 37.4 , , .467 , , .362 , , .731 , , 3.0 , , 7.1 , , 1.9 , , .2 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65 , , 64 , , 34.6 , , .443 , , .312 , , .759 , , 2.6 , , 5.7 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 62 , , 60 , , 34.0 , , .419 , , .393 , , .756 , , 2.0 , , 5.4 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 18.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 28 , , 31.9 , , .380 , , .352 , , .560 , , 2.0 , , 3.5 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 54 , , 27 , , 24.3 , , .430 , , .367 , , .743 , , 1.6 , , 4.4 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 80 , , 80 , , 34.0 , , .446 , , .363 , , .724 , , 2.4 , , 5.7 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 82 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 35.3 , , .464 , , .372 , , .757 , , 2.5 , , 4.3 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 29 , , 29.5 , , .444 , , .341 , , .742 , , 1.8 , , 4.3 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, 66 , , 45 , , 26.7 , , .417 , , .360 , , .696 , , 1.6 , , 3.5 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L. A. Lakers , 45 , , 29 , , 24.9 , , .412 , , .368 , , .813 , , 1.5 , , 4.2 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 6.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1,199 , , 883 , , 31.5 , , .463 , , .354 , , .745 , , 2.4 , , 5.5 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 13.3

Playoffs

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1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

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, 10 , , – , , 22.6 , , .389 , , .375 , , .714 , , 2.0 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

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, 4 , , 0 , , 33.0 , , .476 , , .333 , , .714 , , 3.0 , , 5.0 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1986 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 10 , , 34.8 , , .533 , , .571 , , .750 , , 1.9 , , 7.6 , , 2.3 , , .0 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 30.8 , , .500 , , .222 , , .800 , , 3.0 , , 6.8 , , 1.8 , , .0 , , 16.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 17 , , 17 , , 35.4 , , .441 , , .250 , , .729 , , 2.5 , , 7.1 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 39.7 , , .438 , , .313 , , .688 , , 2.7 , , 7.7 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, style="text-align:left;", New York , 23 , , 22 , , 32.6 , , .429 , , .341 , , .643 , , 2.3 , , 4.5 , , 1.8 , , .0 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, style="text-align:left;", New York , 11 , , 11 , , 35.3 , , .514 , , .574 , , .750 , , 3.5 , , 5.6 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, style="text-align:left;", New York , 8 , , 8 , , 36.6 , , .354 , , .314 , , .733 , , 2.1 , , 4.8 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, style="text-align:left;", L. A. Lakers , 7 , , 0 , , 16.1 , , .419 , , .100 , , .500 , , 1.4 , , 2.1 , , .3 , , .0 , , 4.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 97 , , 75 , , 31.9 , , .449 , , .365 , , .712 , , 2.4 , , 5.3 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 11.3

References

External links

Career Statistics
at basketball-reference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Derek 1961 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American sports announcers Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Dallas Mavericks draft picks Dallas Mavericks players Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players Los Angeles Lakers players McDonald's High School All-Americans NBA players with retired numbers New York Knicks players Orlando Magic players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Elbert County, Georgia Point guards 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen

College

Professional career

Dallas Mavericks (1983–1993)

New York Knicks (1993–1996)

Return to Dallas (1996–1997)

Orlando Magic (1997–1998)

Los Angeles Lakers (1999)

Retirement

Personal life

Honors

Basketball

College statistics

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links