J-Speaks: Mavericks Raise No. 12 to Rafters of AAC

In the 1983 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks selected with the No. 11 overall pick a ‘6’4” point guard out of the University of Illinois who would become an integral part of their team during a five-year run in the 1980s. This past Saturday was the 23-year anniversary where this star lead guard was traded to the “Big Apple” where he became a spark in their run to the 1994 NBA Finals. On Sunday, that lead guard was honored during intermission of the tilt between the two teams he played a majority of his NBA career with. 

At halftime of the Mavericks (13-28) 100-96 loss versus the New York Knicks at the American Airlines Center on Sunday night, the organization retired the No. 12 jersey of Derek Harper. 

“I’m very humbled by this honor,” Harper, who has been the television color analyst for the Mavs on FOX Sports Southwest for last 11 seasons alongside play-by-play man Mark Followill, the Master of Ceremonies said to the 19,200 in attendance. “Very grateful that Mark Cuban, along with the Mavericks organization made it official that No. 12 is going to hang in the rafters. I can truly say that I don’t stand here thinking that one day my jersey was going to hang in the rafters. That’s not why we play the game. We play for the love. For the competition. For the comradery, of teammates.”

He joined former teammates in All-Star Ronaldo Blackman (No. 22), and Brad Davis (No. 14), who were on hand for the ceremony to have their jersey raised in the rafters of the AAC. 

“The most important thing when you talk about a point guard. When you talk about somebody who’s leading a basketball team, you have to know, and understand the personalities that he had to put up with, including our coach, including me, including Mark [Aguirre], including everybody on the team,” Blackman said of his former partner in the backcourt back then during the ceremony.

“But he was always ready to lead. Always ready to put himself in line to be able put all the actions necessary to be able to have our team come out on top.” 

Blackman also said that he remembers Harper’s focused scowl that he had on his face during the game. He compared it to having a Dobermann Pinscher dog. He coupled that with a consistency to understand the game plan; to manage all the personalities on the team; and to be able to grow as a player individually, and as a leader, which made him as Blackman said to the audience one of the best point guards to play on offense, and on defense. 

Another one of Harper’s former teammates on hand was Davis, who played for the Mavericks from 1980-1992, with nine of those seasons as a teammate of Harper’s who Followill mentioned that he wore a suit in respect of his former teammate. 

Davis, who is second in Mavericks history in games played with 863, said that when the team drafted Harper, the team would get together before training camp for a scrimmage, and said after going against him for nearly a week, he knew that he was in for a long season practicing against Harper day in, and day out. 

“One thing I respect about Derek is how intense he was, and how competitive he was,” Davis said to those in attendance. “It didn’t matter if it was Game 7 against the Lakers, or five-on-five in practice. He always had that competitive fire, and I always liked it when he switched over to guard Ro [Blackman] for a little while, cause then I got a break, which was great.” 

One fond memory that Davis shared about Harper is midway through the 1985-86 season, Motta told then assistant coach Bob Weiss that he was going to make Harper the starting point guard. Coach Weiss came to Davis’ locker about the decision. His response, “What took you so long?” 

“I want to congratulate Harp. I’ve always admired the way he played. The way he conducted himself. One of the best teammates I’ve ever had.”

Also on the floor for the ceremony was Harper’s first NBA head coach in his first four seasons was Dick Motta, who coached the team from 1980-87. 

Harper said during the ceremony of the now 87-year-old Motta that he was always tough on him, but he was tough on him for a reason. That he carved his career out, and he got on him because Blackman, and Mark Aguirre could not take it, which got a laugh from his former teammate, as well as the audience. So, Harper took the brunt of it, and said it set him on the right path to be that hard nose, scrappy, defensive ace, where he made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1987, and 1990.  

“The reason why I can move on from basketball. Why I was able to move on from the game is because Dick Motta taught me how to leave it out on the floor every single night, and that’s important to me.” Harper said of his first head coach in “The Association.” “That’s important to me because I think that’s what it’s all about. It’s about giving 100 percent for the fans.”

He played 12 of his 16 seasons in “Big-D,” and only current Mavs’ perennial All-Star, and 2006 MVP Dirk Nowitzki (30,757, and counting); Blackman (16,643), and Mark Aguirre (13,390) have scored more points in their time with the Mavericks than the 12,597 points by Harper. He is their all-time leader in assists (5,111), and steals (1,551), and averaged 14.4 points, 5.9 assists, and 1.8 steals, on 47 percent shooting from 1983-94, and 1996-97. 

Harper said to Knicks’ sideline reporter Rebecca Haarlow in a pregame interview that he is most proud of the fact that he remains the all-time steals leader in Mavericks history, because it points to how great of a defender he was, which is where he built his NBA career on. 

In three of those five seasons beginning in the 1984, the Mavericks, and Harper met the Los Angeles Lakers led by Hall of Famers Earvin “Magic” Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and head coach Pat Riley three times. They lost to them in the semifinals twice in 1984 in five games, and in 1986 in six games. Their best moment to take down the Goliath of the Western Conference came in 1988, but they fell in Game 7 at the Great Western Forum, as the Lakers went on to defeat the Detroit Pistons, led by Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas in seven games.   

After the 1987-88 season, the Dallas Mavericks only made the postseason just once over the next 12 seasons, which consisted of 11 wins in 1992-93, and 13 wins in 1993-94.  

During the 1993-94 NBA campaign, nearly 24 seasons ago to the day of Jan. 6, 1994, Harper was traded to the New York Knicks, where he was reunited with Blackman, and was coached by Riley, who saw his great work on both ends of the court up close. 

The Knicks, who finished as the East runner-up the season prior losing to the Chicago Bulls in the Conference Finals in six games, needed a defensive lead guard to replace then starting lead guard Glenn “Doc” Rivers, the now head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers was shelved for the remainder of that season because of injury. 

The acquisition of Harper, who averaged 11.7 points, 4.8 assists in 216 regular season appearances with the Knicks from 1994-96 was a major reason the Knicks managed to compile a 57-25 record, winning their third straight Atlantic Division title, and they made their way through the East, beating the then New Jersey Nets in the opening round 3-1; defeating the hated Bulls 4-3 in the Semis; and taking care of the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals 4-3. 

In their first NBA Finals appearance since 1973, the Knicks behind their defensive identity, and grit held their own against the Western Conference representative the Houston Rockets, but feel to the Rockets in seven games. 

“Playing in New York brings back so of my greatest basketball memories, simply because I did have the opportunity to play for a championship in 94 under coach Riley.” Harper, who averaged 11.9 points, 4.8 assists on 44 percent from the floor in 42 career playoff games as a Knick said to Haarlow. “We missed it by one game obviously. Got to Game 7. Didn’t happen, but I have great fond memories of New York. Tremendous place to play.”

Harper also said that advancing to The Finals was his fondest memory, when they defeated the Pacers at Madison Square Garden in Game 7, 94-90 on June 5, 1994, and he remembers jumping into the arms of Hall of Fame Center Patrick Ewing. He called the moment of knowing that he, and his teammates were going to be competing for a title, “surreal.” 

“I’ve always like most NBA players wanted to that opportunity, and to know I was going there, that’s got to be my biggest memory period.” 

Had the Knicks won in the 1994 Finals, Harper, who averaged 16.4 points, six assists, and 2.4 steals on 47 percent from the floor, and 44 percent from three-point range in The Finals, had a good chance of being named Finals MVP, which went to Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon of the Rockets. 

Harper also said that had he won a title in New York, his jersey retirement on Sunday night might not had happened because he said that he might have stayed in the “Big Apple,” and worked in the organization in some capacity. 

“You win a championship in a city like that, you’re always going to be honored,” Harper said. 

As far as winning the MVP of The Finals, Harper said to Haarlow that’s not what it was about for him. It was only about being in The Finals, and having the chance to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy for New York City. 

He is also responsible for a very important rule change. In one of the games during that seven-game series with the Bulls in the Semis, Harper got into a fight with Stephen “Jo Jo” English, where both benches cleared right in front of then NBA Commissioner David Stern. 

After that game, Stern made the rule that anyone who steps off their team’s respective bench from the players, to the coaching staff, you are automatically suspended. 

The Knicks would learn that first hand three years later when near the end of Game 5 of their Semis tilt at the Miami Heat, a fight took place, where several players, including Ewing, and All-Star guard Allan Houston were suspended for Game 6 for leaving the bench area. All-Star forward Larry Johnson, and John Starks were suspended for the decisive Game 7 in South Florida, and Charlie Ward, who was involved in the Game 5 fight was suspended for both contest. The Knicks lost that series in seven games.

There are a lot of compliments you can give to a player of Harper’s caliber, who was all about the team, and did not care about his individual stats. MSG’s Al Trautwig called the Mavs television color analyst near the conclusion of the Knicks pregame their version of Knicks Hall of Famer Walt “Clyde” Frazier. 

One of the things Frazier was more than a very talented player is that he was a great team guy, and that to a tee describes Harper. During his speech, he mentioned some of the teammates in his two stints with the Mavericks Jim Jackson, Jamal Mashburn, Michael Finley, Erick Strickland, along with Blackman, and Davis mattered to him. 

To him, you are only as good as the people you are surrounded by, and Harper is thankful for the teammates he had as a young player, and as an older player. 

He is also thankful to his support system of his grown children in son Darius, daughters Danielle, Dana, and his four-year-old granddaughter Savannah. 

Before raising his jersey to the AAC rafters, Harper thanked Mark Cuban, the high energy, committed, and loud owner of the Mavs since 2000. It is because of him, current head coach Rick Carlisle, General Manager Donn Nelson, the son of former Mavericks head coach Don Nelson, and future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki that he has a championship ring, from the Mavs six-game victory in the 2017 Finals over the Miami Heat. Harper also gave thanks to a former teammate of Nowitzki’s Shawn Marion, and current teammate J.J. Barea. 

“J.J., Shawn, Dirk. There the reasons why I do own a championship ring, along with the rest of the Mavericks staff in 2011,” Harper said. 

The Mavericks, and Cuban returned that love with a $25,000 check to Harper’s favorite charity, the American Diabetes Association. 

On Sunday night, the Dallas Mavericks rose to the rafters of the American Airlines Center the No. 12 jersey of man who they drafted No. 11 overall in 1983 that played a major role in them becoming a title contender in the 1980s. When he was traded to the New York Knicks nearly 23 years to the day, he played a major role in them getting to the 1994 Finals, where they lost in seven games to the Houston Rockets. Six years ago, thanks to the Mavs victory in six games of the then “Big 3” of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh of the Heat, Derek Harper finally got that championship ring. 

Derek Harper was a solid player who took care of his business on both ends of the floor. He was a player that his teammates both in Dallas, and New York respected, and loved playing with. On top of that, he had a respect for competing against the best in practice, and on the hardwood. He took that same love, and commitment to being great on the basketball court, and has become a solid color analyst for the same organization he gave his blood, sweat, and tears for, and has left a lasting impact on all those who watched. 

“Derek Harper is a guy I grew up watching as a kid. Guys like Derek Harper gave me inspiration to go out, and work on my jump shot in the drive way,” Cold Spring Harbor, NY native, 10-year NBA player, and Knicks color analyst Wally Szczerbiak, who had his no. 32 retired by the University of Miami (OH) in 2001, and was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 said during the Knicks halftime report, presented by Heineken. 

“I’m a student of history of the basketball game, especially the NBA game. Thanks to guys like him that our generation was able to do what we did, and now future generations are able to do what they did. It’s great to see that he’s in a good place, and that was a pretty moving ceremony.”

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 1/7/18 6:30 p.m. edition of the ALFA Romeo Knicks Game Night on the Madison Square Garden Network with Al Trautwig, Alan Hahn, Wally Szczerbiak and Rebecca Haarlow; 1/7/18 7 p.m. New York Knicks versus Dallas Mavericks on Madison Square Garden Network (MSG), presented by Chase with Mike Breen, Brendan Brown, and Rebecca Haarlow; www.nba.com/ games/20180107/NYKDAL#/; www.espn.com/nba/game?gameid=400975333;  https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/harpede01.html; https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/leaders_career.html;

4/28/94 www.nytime.com article, “PRO BASKETBALL; Harper’s Maxim: Last Shall Be First,” by Clifton Brown; 1/7/18 article from https://sportsday.dallasnews.com, “ ‘This is my night’: Derek Harper’s Jersey Raised to Rafters In Front of Mavericks’ Faithful, Past, and Present,” by Staff Writer Brad Townsend; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Harper; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dallas_Mavericks_seasons.