Ex Rutgers star forward Ron Harper Jr made his NBA debut Monday night, playing the final three minutes and nine seconds of the Toronto Raptors’ 139-109 win over the Atlanta Hawks at Scotiabank Arena.
The rookie missed his only shot, a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, to record his only tally of the night. Harper was more memorable 14th former Scarlet Knight to play in an NBA game in league history.
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He is the second scarlet knight under current head coach Steve Pikiel play at least one NBA game; forward Eugene Amarui played in eight games over the past two seasons with the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder after going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft.
Harper was not selected in the 2022 NBA draft, but he signed a two-way deal with the Raptors shortly after the event ends. He subsequently participated in Summer League, averaging 9.2 points, five rebounds and 24.1 minutes in five games, all of which he started.
Harper played in three preseason games for the Raptors, posting two points on 1-of-4 shooting, three rebounds, an assist and four fouls in 15 minutes combined against the Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls”, where his father won three of his five NBA championships.
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Harper made the final 15-man roster for the Raptors ahead of the 2022-2023 season and was benched for their first seven regular season games. After six consecutive DNP-CDs, he got his first of what he hopes will be many NBA minutes on Monday.
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Brian Fonseca can be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.
