HOUSTON — At the Celtics’ team meeting on Wednesday morning, two-way player Ron Harper Jr. saw his name on the whiteboard.
It quickly dawned on him: for the first time in his four-year NBA career, he was going to start in an NBA basketball game.
“I knew I was getting a start,” Harper Jr. said, “and I just knew I had to be ready.”
The extended chance came, in part, because Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser were both being sidelined on the second night of a back-to-back. On top of that, Anfernee Simons, who
has been one of the Celtics’ primary guards all season, was traded to Chicago earlier in the week. So, a backcourt opportunity emerged that simply hadn’t been there earlier in the season.
But, the decision to give Harper Jr. the start was also the result of Joe Mazzulla having complete trust in his young guys and two-way players to step up in big moments. Last month, it was fellow two-way player Amari Williams who got multiple starts and even crucial minutes in a double-overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets.
This time, it was Harper.
“You feel just as comfortable starting him as you do anyone else,” said Mazzulla. “Because you know he’s ready to go.”
Harper Jr. came out of the gates flying. He hit his first three three-pointers of the game, and finished the night with a career-high 11 points.
But what stood out most to Joe Mazzulla was his immediate tenacity on the glass; he finished the game with a career-best 9 rebounds.
“He got off to a great start with two defensive rebounds that he got to start the game,” Mazzulla said. “That showed that he was ready to go — and that stuck out to me more. And then the defense came, and then the shotmaking came, and I thought he had great presence.”
Most impressive was his work on the defensive end; for most of the night, Harper Jr. had to chase around one of the greatest scorers in the history of basketball, Kevin Durant.
“Don’t let him score, man,” Harper Jr. said of his mindset. “Just do everything in my power to just try to deny him the ball, try denying catches, and try to make his life difficult. And I feel like me and the rest of the guys did a great job at that — feel like we was able to frustrate him a little bit, and it ultimately led to us getting a lot of stops.”
Entering Wednesday night, Harper. had only logged 35 NBA minutes as a Celtic; in the match-up against the Rockets, he nearly eclipsed that, tallying 33 minutes and starting alongside Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza, Neemias Queta, and Derrick White.
“It’s crazy,” he said after the 114-93 Celtics’ win. “In this game, on this team, you never know what you’re going to be asked to do on any given day.”
For Mazzulla, the trust in Harper Jr. stems from a profound trust in the Maine Celtics system, and its synergy with Boston.
“It starts in Maine, and it starts with our staff, and just what those guys are able to do there,” Mazzulla said. “Keeping Ron sharp, and making sure you know the language and what we’re doing, is important. And then our staff here is keeping them up to speed.”
Ron Harper Jr’s path to his first NBA start was a long one
Ron Harper Jr. might be a new face to some Celtics fans, but he’s intimately familiar with the system in Boston. The Celtics guard — a former Rutgers star — has spent the last two training camps with the Celtics, and was also a member of the 2024 Celtics Summer League squad.
He began last season on the Maine Celtics before signing a two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons midseason. And, after that contract wasn’t renewed, he opted to return to Boston for training camp, successfully fighting for a two-way spot with the Celtics, and edging out RJ Luis, Jalen Bridges, Kendall Brown, and Wendell Moore in the process.
Harper Jr. impressed his teammates and coaches alike at camp.
“He can shoot it,” said Derrick White. “That’s the first thing that stood out.”
Today, that familiarity and experience with the Celtics organization is paying off.
“I feel like I know the system; the coverages are like the back of my hand,” Harper Jr. said. “That was a big part of the process and the decision to be coming back in the summer — I just knew the team, I knew the coaches, I knew the system.”
This year, Harper Jr. has been one of the G League’s top players, and as such, he’ll represent the Celtics in the Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend in Los Angeles later this month. This season, he’s averaged 24.3 points and 3.1 assists per game.
But, as much success as he’s had with the Maine Celtics, Wednesday night hit different. When Harper Jr. heard his name announced at the Rockets’ Toyota Center, it was undeniably a momentous occassion.
“Before tonight, the only time I heard that was in MyCareer on 2k, so it was definitely great to hear your name, your college,” he said with a smile.
Harper’s most memorable moment of the night came when he crashed the glass after a Derrick White three-point miss — and slammed down a putback dunk.
“Oh, man, I mean, I had a whole runway,” he said. “My damn eyes lit up when I see them come up off the rim like that. And I was like, ‘Yeah, I gotta go get this.”
After the highlight play, he heard from his dad, former NBA star Ron Harper.
“My dad told me I was looking like him out there,” Harper Jr said with a smile. “Let’s tone that down.”
Taking advantage of an extended opportunity
The Celtics guard said it was rewarding to finally get the chance to lace up with the big club for an extended run.
“Joe makes a heavy emphasis that everybody’s gonna get their shot,” he said. “So, just stay ready and be ready. And, I feel like I did a good job.”
The role in Boston is vastly different than the one in Maine, where Harper Jr. is the primary offensive option and primarily has the ball in his hands. That doesn’t make it any less rewarding.
“I know how I can impact winning, know how I can impact this team,” he said. “I’m not gonna be asked to have as high a usage rate as I do in the G [League] — that’s okay. I’m just out there to make these guys’ lives easier, just be a role player. I know if I get out there and my get out there and get my chance, I’m not gonna come off every ball screen, I’m not gonna shoot a bunch of shots, I’m cool with that, as long as I can help the team win, and as long as we win, I’m good.”
Stints in Toronto and Detroit failed to turn into longer-term opportunities for the former Rutgers star. But, this past year, he made the decision to return to Boston for training camp — even though there was no guarantee of a contract or any on-court opportunities.
Standing in the visiting locker room in Houston, on the heels of a career game, the 25-year-old felt like he made the right decision.
“I felt like I could excel,” Harper Jr. said. “I feel like it’s working out pretty good so far.”
